


Green Eyes & Freckles & Your Smile

by MaddDog



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, F/F, Fluff, Implied Smut, Kidfic, Lena has a secret four year old, Lena is a wine mom, Lena may or may not have a crush on Joanna Gaines, Lena needs a hug always, Lillian Luthor was a shitty mom in case anybody was still wondering, Lorraine is a little shit, Mom!Lena, SO MUCH FLUFF, Sanvers - Freeform, SuperCorp, domestic supercorp, hacker Lena, secret reveal, the DEO hosts sleepovers now
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-04
Updated: 2018-09-17
Packaged: 2018-12-11 01:49:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 44,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11704302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaddDog/pseuds/MaddDog
Summary: Kara and Lena have been dating for over a month despite Lena withholding one, pint-sized detail:Her daughter.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My take on the whole, Lena having a kid and seeing where Kara fits into that. It's obviously not canon but not fully AU either. This is a small glimpse of what I have planned but I just wanted to get it started! Reviews are always welcome!

To say Lena Luthor was nervous was an understatement. She wasn’t one to get frazzled about things, but this, this was big. Today was the day she was telling her girlfriend, she still was getting used to the fact that she had a girlfriend, her biggest secret. 

The double doors of her office opened and Kara burst in. “Lena! Jess let me in, I have the worst news ever, they were out of potstickers so I had to order something else for lunch!” And just like that, the nerves were gone, Lena felt the corner of her lips turn up, earning a scoff from Kara. “Do not laugh at my pain Lena Luthor, having potstickers at lunch with you is the best part of my day.”

Lena let herself laugh a little. “I’m sorry darling, it’s just sweet to watch you freak out about food.”

Kara flopped on the couch, setting the paper takeout bag on the table. “I’m not freaking out, I’m being…” she pondered on the right word. “Passionate.”

“You truly do have a passion for food,” Lena said, joining Kara on the white sofa. “What did you end up getting instead?”

“Um…” Kara began taking things out of the bag. “Fried rice, egg rolls, and some chicken thing, I don’t remember.” She broke open a pair of chopsticks and started in on the food. “So what is the big thing you were going to tell me about today?” 

Lena felt herself freeze for a second, the nerves were back. “That?”

“Yeah.” Kara spoke through a mouthful of rice. “Don’t think that this lunchtime disaster made me forget.”

“Well.” Lena had rehearsed what she was going to say to Kara so many times. She had done it in front of the mirror, driving alone in the car, while she lay awake at night. “There’s one part of my life I’ve been keeping from you. And I’ve had time to tell you this and it’s not that I haven’t felt comfortable telling you, it’s just not something I’m not used to sharing.”

Kara took a break from the food, putting down the chopsticks in favor of taking one of Lena’s hands. “Okay?”

Lena sighed, it was harder than she had expected. “I, um, it’s not quite something I’ve been keeping for you. It’s someone.”

There was a moment of silence and Kara truly did not know what to expect. Lena was still holding onto her hand but was fumbling with her fingers and had broken their eye contact. “You can tell me, Lena,” she urged, breaking the quiet. 

Squeezing her eyes shut and biting down on her lip, Lena just blurted it. “I have a daughter.” Opening her eyes slowly, she was potentially expecting a face of anger, perhaps one of betrayal. She was met instead by slight confusion and an overwhelming response of compassion. 

“You have a daughter?” Kara parroted, not letting go of her hand. 

Lena nodded. “Lorraine, she’s four.”

“Four… so you had her when you were…” Kara trailed, off trying to piece it together. 

“I had graduated college by then. I had just started living in Metropolis alone, I met a guy and…” it was Lena’s turn to trail off. “Of course, pregnant at 20 didn’t serve the Luthor name well and I was more or less put into hiding. Things hadn’t quite erupted with Lex and I was still trying to please my family, get them to accept me. And then when everything started happening with Lex and Superman it became a matter of safety. She means everything to me, and if that meant keeping her a secret, I had to do it.”

“I understand,” Kara cut in softly. “I just, I have more questions obviously, but I wanted,” she breathed out slowly. “Sorry, it’s just kind of a lot to process. I mean, I’m sure it’s like when I told you I was Supergirl except you knew about that from the beginning and how…” Kara stopped her ramble. “How did I not figure this out sooner?”

“It’s been four years of hiding. I’m quite good at it.”

“But-” Kara let go of Lena’s hand. “Those times when you’d disappear for days at a time, the phone calls, the- I mean, we’ve been actually dating for over a month, been friends for way longer and I’ve never been to your place.”

“I was a little surprised when you never questioned it. I suppose that is the plus side to you being Supergirl, there’s things that pull you away too.”

Kara sat there, looking a little bit in disbelief. "How have you kept her away from the press?" It wasn't like Lena herself shied away from the spotlight.

"I honestly don't know. It's been getting harder now that she's in school and I've somehow found my way into the news more lately. I probably won't be able to keep her away that much longer."

“Who else knows about her?”

“Lex and Lillian know, her father, Jack, obviously.” Lena stopped to get a bite of food of her own. “His immediate family and friends know, but in National City, I think just Jess. And now you.” She finally felt confident enough to make solid eye contact again. “Oh and her nanny, Genevieve.”

“And now me…” Kara was doing the repeating thing again. “So why now? Why was now the right time to tell me?”

“I’ve tried to tell you so many times. Early on I didn’t think it mattered. We were just friends and given my track record with friends in the past, I didn’t think too much into it. No one stayed friends with a Luthor for long. And then-” Lena felt herself begin to choke up little. “And then you were different. You were there for me when no one else was, and I wanted to tell you so bad, but then Lillian…”

“Cadmus, it, it wasn’t safe, right?”

Lena nodded. “I had Lo go to Metropolis for a few weeks to spend some time with Jack until I felt it was okay for her to come back. By then, things had changed for us and I didn’t feel it was appropriate. You didn’t sign up for me and a kid. I didn’t want you to think I was trying to force you into a mothering role along with me.”

“Lena…”

“I’m sorry I took so long to tell you.”

“I’m glad you’re telling me now.” 

Kara’s voice was quiet and Lena was trying to get the best read on how her girlfriend was actually feeling. Nothing had changed in Kara’s demeanor. Eyes were still sparkling yet bore into Lena’s with a depth that made her trust her ten times over. “Do you want to see her?”

“Sure!” Kara abandoned the food, opting to tuck her legs underneath her and curl into Lena’s side to see her phone. 

Scrolling through the albums, Lena clicked on the one titled, ‘Peanut’, finding a recent photo of Lorraine to pull up. “This is from last weekend.” 

It was a selfie, half of Lena's face cut off so that Lorraine was front and center. Kara's mouth fell open, the little girl almost identical to her mother, same dark hair and intense green eyes. Her skin was shades darker than Lena's however, tan freckles smattered across her nose. "She's beautiful," Kara said. 

There was a knock at the door, Jess peeking her head in. Lena got up to deal with her and Kara leaned back against the couch, her mind racing with all of the new information. Her best friend, her girlfriend, was a mom. She had a child. She had a secret child. How had Kara not noticed it? Lena never really talked about her past and Kara had never really asked. She felt stupid, she felt...

"Kara?"

Lena's voice pulled her from her thoughts, Jess was gone and the CEO back by the couch again. "What?"

"Your phone is going off, I think it's your..."

It was the DEO. They needed Supergirl. Kara sighed, silencing the phone. "I have to go."

Lena's face fell, there was still so much she wanted to say. "Can we talk more later?"

"Of course." Folding up her glasses and starting to undo her shirt, Kara made her way over to the balcony. She pressed a quick kiss to Lena's cheek before flying off. 

Lena followed out the open balcony, staring off in the direction she had disappeared. She felt sick to her stomach. Kara knew, her secret was finally out. But her current relationship status, that felt up in the air.


	2. Chapter 2

Kara landed with a thud on the DEO balcony, brushing debris off her cape as she stepped inside. There had been an alien disturbance uptown at a construction site and she was covered in plaster. 

“Kara!” Alex ran up to her, grabbing a shoulder and pulling her aside. “What the hell was that?”

“What the hell was what, I stopped that thing.”

Rubbing a hand over her eyes, Alex sighed. “Yes, but not without causing a significant amount of damage and not to mention taking twice as long as usual. You didn't even look like you were trying.”

Knowing she wasn't wrong, Kara avoided eye contact, looking over Alex’s shoulder at the rest of the DEO. “I didn't mean to, I was a little distracted…”

“Yeah, I could tell. Look at me.” Alex turned Kara’s chin so she had to look her in the eye. “What's wrong?”

Chewing on the inside of her lip, Kara found herself fiddling with her cape. “Can we not do this here?” She wanted to tell Alex everything, have her try and make sense of it all. But she wanted to tell her as Kara, not as Supergirl and definitely not in front of everyone at the DEO. 

“Okay. Give me two hours. I need to talk to J’onn and you need to shower.”

/////

It had been three hours. Three hours since she told Kara and it had been radio silence. Okay, really two hours as Lena supposed she could give her a break for fighting an alien. She didn't regret telling her, it had actually been a relief. But their lack of conversing on the subject had her stomach in knots. Kara had initially reacted better than she could have imagined. She didn't seem upset or betrayed, just surprised and a little curious. It was the way she had left that made Lena worry. When she had spoken to Jess, Kara seemed to have gotten lost in her own thoughts. Of course Kara was allowed to feel overwhelmed, it wasn't like the news she had dropped on her was small. But she left so curtly and it made her uneasy. She was used to people leaving, that was nothing new. But Kara was different, Kara was her best friend, her girlfriend. She picked up her phone to check again.

Nothing.

/////

“Alright Kar,” Alex announced as she walked through the unlocked loft door. “I've got pizza and you need to spill.”

Kara had been waiting, standing at the counter twisting a strand of her freshly washed hair. “Lena has a daughter.” She had never been one for subtlety. 

“Excuse me, what?”

“A daughter, a four-year-old, she-” Kara stopped to open the pizza box. “She told me at lunch today and I get why it took so long, I mean, I know Lena, she's a private person, but a kid? Alex how could I not have known? I wasn't even suspicious about it, like, how did I- We’re dating!”

“It took you three years to figure out I worked for a top secret government agency.”

“That's not funny Alex.”

“I'm not trying to be. I'm just saying, if you had no reason to suspect it, I guess you can't beat yourself up for not knowing. You know now, does it change anything?” Alex took a slice of pizza of her own, putting another on a plate for herself before Kara inhaled it all. 

Kara, already grabbing a second piece, chewed thoughtfully before talking again. “Yes and no. I mean, I guess a child changes our dynamic but it doesn't change the way I feel about her. But there's also this other side of things, like trust. I mean, how could she not say anything?”

“How long did you wait before telling her you were an alien?”

“She figured that out herself and you know it. I feel like I'm usually pretty guarded when it comes to that, but I always seemed to slip up around her. I told you about the time I told her I flew to her office on a bus.”

Alex cracked a smile. “That's what Maggie would call, gay mess Kara.”

“Shut up.”

“Hey, I was serious about my question before though. You blatantly giving your identity away aside, how long would you have waited to tell Lena? Were you even planning on telling her, before you guys started dating?”

“Yes.” Kara's eyes flicked down.

“Very convincing,” Alex drawled.

Kara sighed. “It's not that I didn't want to tell or wasn't going to. It was… It was just easier. There was a person in my life who didn't expect me to be super. I didn't have to be Supergirl around her, I just had to be Kara. And I obviously didn't like lying, but… There was just something comforting about it.” She started in on another piece of pizza. “But then she knew and I guess nothing really changed aside from not having to make excuses every time I'm needed. It was nice to finally be completely honest.”

“So she could have been feeling the same way about her secret. Granted, you both hid very different things. You being Supergirl just involves you, a child is a whole other thing.” Alex said, bringing the initial issue back around. 

“I think I'm kind of in shock about it,” Kara admitted, putting her pizza down. “When she told me, I didn't know how to react. I think I left things weirdly when you guys pulled me away.”

“I don't think there's a correct way to react about a kid.”

“Lorraine, her name is Lorraine.”

Alex stifled a laugh. “Lorraine Luthor? Lena really went along with the double L theme?”

“I guess…” Kara got up from her seat, moving to plop down on the couch, hugging a pillow to her chest. 

Following her lead, Alex took the spot next to her. “What do you need from me?” She asked softly, picking up on Kara's shift in demeanor. 

“Tell me what to do,” Kara's voice cracked, tears she hadn't known she was holding in welling up in her eyes. 

“Oh Kar…” Wrapping her younger sister in her arms, Alex squeezed tight. 

Kara returned the hug, burying her face in Alex’s shoulder. “What would you do?” She sniffed. 

“If Maggie had a secret kid?” Alex pulled away, looking up for a moment. “I'd be pretty pissed. She reamed me out for keeping secrets early on, be pretty hypocritical for her to say that and then do the opposite.”

“I’m not mad at Lena, I’m just,” Kara quickly wiped at a tear that had spilled over, “hurt,” she finished, voice quivering. “I'm used to her being a little closed off, neither of us have the easiest pasts. But I've shared so much with her and… It's weird she took this long to tell me, right?”

“Yeah, but that's not really the problem now, is it? You know. What are you going to do about it?”

Kara shrugged.

“Well do you want to break up with her?”

“No!” Kara bolted upright with her exclamation, more tears falling as she sank back into the couch. “I care about her so much, Alex. I don't want to ignore how this all makes me feel but I really don't want to lose her.”

“I know.”

Kara wiped at her eyes again. “I need to be talking about all of this with Lena and not you, don't I?”

Alex pulled her into another hug, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “Whenever you're ready.”

/////

Unsurprisingly, Lena’s anxiety and her defiant daughter’s attitude didn't mix well. 

“Mama I am not tired.” Lorraine stood, arms crossed, at her bedroom’s threshold, pajamas lying at her feet. 

“Lo, please.” They'd been at it for over ten minutes, Lena's patience wearing thin. She had picked her up from gymnastics on her way home from work and despite Lo seemingly having a packed day, the little girl was still full of energy. 

“Not tired…” Lo sing-songed.

Lena wanted to roll her eyes, but held it back. This is what she got for trying to raise a strong, opinionated child. But she wasn’t easily swayed. “Alright, listen up. You've got two choices, you can stay up…”

Lo’s eyes lit up.

Lena held up a finger. “But that means no songs or story.”

“But I want-”

“Or, you can put your PJs on, brush your teeth and get your four songs and story. It's up to you.”

“What about in ten minutes?” Lo tried.

“Nope, one time offer. Mama has to go to bed too.”

“Really?”

No, it was 8:00 pm, Lena was going to finish a bottle of red wine and overthink everything that happened with Kara but she wasn't going to tell her four-year-old that. She feigned a yawn instead. “I'm super tired.”

Lorraine considered everything for a moment before letting out a sigh, pulling out her ponytail and reaching for her pajamas. 

Lena let out a sigh of her own. Thank god. Lo thrived on routine and while some, especially her bedtime one, were time consuming, they helped immensely. After changing and putting her day clothes in the hamper, Lo trudged to the bathroom to brush her teeth. Lena ran a comb through Lo’s dark hair as she stuck her toothbrush in her mouth. 

“Can we read Harry Potter?” Lo asked through a mouthful of paste. 

“We might only get through a page or two but if you don't mind, I don't see why not.”

Lorraine spit in the sink. “That's what I want.” Spinning around, she opened her mouth wide. “I get all the sugar bugs?”

Chuckling at her garbled speech, Lena gave her teeth a once over with the brush before handing over her water cup. “All good babe.”

The rest of the routine followed without a hitch, Harry Potter, four songs, noise machine on, stuffed animals accounted for, tucked in tight and all of the hugs and love. After leaving Lo’s door open just a crack, Lena crashed on the couch, bottle of wine in hand. She let her cheery facade fall, stewing in her miserable day. She usually tried to be honest about emotions with Lorraine, but she hadn't felt like explaining herself today. Foregoing the wine glass, she popped the cork and took a swig straight from the bottle. 

An hour later found Lena deeper in the wine and scrolling through the photos on her phone. Since all of Lorraine's photos were in a special folder, it was a mix of work email screenshots and Kara. Kara loved selfies and Lena could never bring herself to deny her of them. An ache formed in her throat as the thought she had been avoiding all day came to surface. What if she had ruined it all? Not by having a kid, but from withholding telling the truth about it for so long. She had trusted Kara early in their friendship but the longer she put it off, the harder it had become. Another gulp from the bottle and she lay her head back against the couch cushions, a little lightheaded. She needed to call Kara. 

Before she could talk herself out of it, she capitalized on her wine-induced bravery, pulled up FaceTime and hit Kara's contact. The ringing started and she stared at her face on the screen. She had scrubbed her makeup off soon after coming home and her work clothes had been replaced by a pair of leggings and an old band t-shirt. She looked a lot less ‘Luthor CEO’ and more her age. Sometimes she even forgot she was only 25.

“Lena…” Kara's face popped up on the screen, the blonde immediately biting down on her lip. 

“I didn't think you were going to answer,” Lena started bluntly. 

“I haven't been ignoring you on purpose,” Kara said quickly. “I- can you blame me for needing time to think?”

Lena shook her head, her confidence fading fast. 

“I told Alex. I hope that's okay.”

“Of course it is. Kara I…”

Kara cut her off. “If you're going to apologize again, stop. I know you're sorry. That doesn't change the fact that it hurts you didn't tell me sooner. I just wish you told me.”

Lena's eyes stung. “I wish I did too.” She sighed. “I understand if this changes things, I didn't mean-”

Kara interrupted again. “I'm not breaking up with you Lena.”

“Okay.” The wine was definitely starting to hit her.

“Sorry, I guess I kind of gave off that impression because I didn't call you.” Kara flopped back into what looked to be her bed. “I'm just upset. I don't like when you shut me out. Like, I didn't know you were a mom, what else don't I know about you? I know you grew up repressing everything and I know it's not an easy habit for you to break. But this is a relationship, there needs to be a certain level of trust.”

“I do trust you.”

“It doesn't feel like it,” Kara said pointedly. 

Lena started picking at her thumbnail, averting her gaze down. “I know I fucked up. I should have told you a long time ago. I don't want to give out excuses, I just… How do you want to move forward with all of this?”

“I want you to be honest with me.”

Nodding, Lena tucked her legs underneath her. “No more secrets. Ask me anything.”

Kara thought for a moment. “Lorraine's dad. You said he lives in Metropolis, do you have joint custody, or…?”

“I have full custody.” Lena took a deep breath. “Jack… Jack and I were co-workers, this little start up back in Metropolis. I hadn't really come to terms with my sexuality yet, Lillian always making snide comments about how I never brought boys home. I was so young and actually living alone and not at a school for the first time. It was a one-night stand and Jack and I barely spoke before, let alone after. But then I missed my period and…” She had to stop and take another breath. It had been a long time since she had talked about this part of her life. “I let him off the hook. I had just barely turned twenty, he was twenty-four and I, I felt like I couldn't burden him with something he never asked for. We never lost touch, he was even at her birth, but early on, he never took on the parenting role.”

“And now?”

“When things started happening with Lex, I wanted to know I had someone I trusted in case things got complicated, someone I knew would protect Lo. She was so little and I didn't really have a lot of people to turn to, it wasn't like I trusted Lillian with her, the woman made my childhood hell. Jack was my only good option. We started with short visits, and, I mean, he's her dad. They have a relationship, he's good to her… I don't know. It's weird and unconventional. She's spent weekends with him before and I told you she spent a few weeks with him right after Lillian escaped from jail. It sounds so messy explaining it out loud, but it works.”

“Who's last name does Lorraine have?”

“Legally, mine. She's Lorraine Charlotte Luthor. She uses Jack’s for school, Spheer.” 

“That's… Confusing.”

Lena shrugged. “Yeah.” Her hand slipped and the angle on the video chat went crooked. “Sorry.”

“Is Lorraine even aware that she's a secret?”

The question hit Lena hard. “Yes.” She took a moment to continue, knowing Kara deserved all the explanations, but that didn't mean it was easy. “It's something I had to address with her recently. She knows it's to keep her safe.”

“How much does she know?”

“Like about Lex and Lillian?” Kara nodded and Lena's throat ached with the want to cry. Swallowing hard, she worked to push back the tears burning behind her eyes. She hated how much Lo knew, but she hated lying to her more. “Enough…” She finally answered.

Kara's face softened, sensing Lena's discomfort the deeper their conversation got. “Sorry, I know it feels like I'm grilling you.”

Lena bit back a laugh. “They're all perfectly valid questions, Kara. It's my own fault you don't know all of this already.” She cringed at the harsh tone that had popped up in her voice, she had moved from self-pity to self-loathing pretty quickly. Whether it was the wine or the Luthor genes, she could feel herself hardening.

“Can I come see you?” Kara asked. “It feels weird doing this over the phone.” 

It was weird, disconnected in a way. “Lo’s asleep, but as long as we’re quiet,” Lena agreed. 

“I can fly over, it'll only take a minute.”

“Do you need directions?” Lena asked, the realization that this would be the first time came to her apartment hitting her.

This made Kara laugh, her little cackle cutting the tension gripping the conversation. “I've dropped you off at your building before, Lena. And I have…”

“X-Ray vision and super hearing,” Lena finished for her, feeling a small smile curl up on her lips. “How could I forget?”

“Okay, I'm going to hang up now. See you soon?”

Lena nodded. “I'll leave the balcony door unlocked.” Kara must have ended the call as the screen returned to just her own face, an unflattering angle of her chewing on her thumbnail getting blown up. She tossed her phone aside, getting up to unlock the door. Staying near the glass French doors, she surveyed her own apartment. Lo’s toys littered the floor to her left and she moved to start picking them up. Even though she knew Kara was coming, she still startled at the thump of her landing on the balcony and the subsequent click of the opening door. She turned to face her. “Hey.”

“Hey.” After shutting the door, Kara immediately pulled Lena into a hug.

It came as a surprise but Lena hugged back, squeezing tight. She pulled back first. “What was that for?”

“I was watching your face. You went cold, you put your bitch face on, the one you do when you start putting up walls. I never want to be the one to make you feel that way.”

Lena wasn't surprised at the declaration, Kara always knew. She tried her best to let her expression soften. “Old habits die hard I guess.”

“And I just wanted to hug you.” Kara placed her hands on Lena's shoulders. “Is that so bad?”

Shaking her head, Lena fell back into another hug. “I know you want me to stop apologizing but I really am sorry,” she muttered, face pressed in Kara's shoulder.

“I know.”

They stayed silent, both relishing in the hug for a moment, Kara pulling back this time. “I have to say, your place isn't what I imagined.”

“What were you expecting?” Lena asked, going back to the couch. She knew she lived more modestly than most people assumed for a billionaire CEO. Her apartment wasn't small, but it wasn't sprawling either. It was all she needed for her and Lo. 

“I guess something a little more lavish,” Kara admitted, eyes scanning the room. “Not that it's bad, but have you seen your office Lena? This is the total opposite.”

“I wanted it to feel comfortable, homey. That was something that was never quite accomplished at the Luthor mansion.”

Kara smiled. “Well I like it, mummy puzzles, empty wine bottles and all. It's very you.”

“The puzzle is Lorraine’s,” Lena said, a bit of pink rising in her cheeks at the mention of the wine. 

“Needed a little liquid courage before talking to me tonight?”

Lena sat down on the couch again with a sigh. “Embarrassingly, yes. Not that I need to be drunk to talk about all this, it just, it's been a long day. I didn't know if you could tell when we were talking before…”

Kara took a seat as well. “I'm not judging, you were perfectly coherent.” She leaned over and poked the middle of Lena's upper lip. “This purple though, dead giveaway.”

Lena finally felt a real smile break out onto her face, laying her head down on Kara's lap. “That always happens to me, I can't help it.”

“So I have another question for you,” Kara started. “I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner. I thought about it as I was flying over.”

“What is it?” The awkwardness of their phone conversation was gone, Kara's actual presence serving as a calm.

“Does Lorraine know about me?”

“She does.” Lena watched as Kara's face seemed to light up a little. “I mean, she's four so she doesn't completely understand. But she knows mama has a special friend named Kara.”

“So she calls you mama?”

“What's wrong with that?”

Kara giggled. “Nothing, I don't know. You're just so proper sometimes, I half expected her to call you mother.”

“Shut up.” Lena let her eyes slip shut. “I was brought up with formalities. When I was adopted I was taught to address Lillian and Lionel as mother and father, it's what Lex called them. I don't remember too much, but I think I called my biological mom, mama.”

Kara ran her fingers through Lena's hair. “You never talk about her either, your biological mom I mean… Oh…”

Lena opened her eyes at the hesitation to see Lorraine up, standing in the hall looking like a hot mess; hair askew, one sock on, and her Lovie clutched in her fist. “I'll be right back.” She told Kara, a bit relieved at the interruption. She slid off the couch and walked across the kitchen to Lo. “What are you doing up, it's so late,” she whispered, bending down to her level. Lo didn't say anything, in a bit of a sleepy daze. She lifted her arms, signaling she wanted to be picked up. Lena obliged, standing back up as Lo nuzzled into her shoulder. “Let's get you back to bed Peanut.” Walking slowly, she carried Lo back to her room, gently placing her back in bed. 

“Mama…” Lo mumbled as soon as she felt herself leave Lena's arms. 

“I'm right here.” Lena expected Lo to bring up that she had someone over, ask what they were doing, or complain they were talking too loud.

“I'm thirsty.” Lo said. She reached into her blankets and pulled out the sippy cup she always kept on the bedside table. “My water is gone.”

Lena took the empty cup. “I'll fill it up quick, okay?” Lorraine nodded, rolling over in bed and Lena went back out to the kitchen. “Dire water emergency,” she explained to Kara, grabbing the filtered water pitcher out of the refrigerator. With the cup refilled, she went back to Lo’s room. 

The little girl took a single sip from the cup before putting back on her table. “Thank you mama.”

“You're welcome sweet girl. Goodnight, I love you.” Lena dropped a kiss on her cheek before going back out. Trust her kid to interrupt a serious conversation for literally one sip of water. She sat back down next to Kara, settling her head in her lap again. “Sorry about that.”

“Mama duties call,” Kara joked. She seemed to stare off into space for a moment before speaking again. “It was cute.”

“Me as a mom or Lorraine? Because that child is a disaster when she wakes up. You should have seen her as a toddler after a nap, she'd be all red faced and sweaty, hair everywhere. I used to blame Jack’s genetics.”

“I don't know, I've seen you look pretty rough after a nap.”

Lena gasped at the memory. Kara had found her asleep on her desk at work after staying up over 48 hours to complete a project. “Just that one time,” she defended. 

“Oh yes Lena Luthor can never look less than immaculate. That trail of drool was a one time thing only.” Kara laughed at her own joke, pausing once she stopped. “Can you tell me more about her, about Lorraine?”

“What kind of things do you want to know?”

“Anything, everything. Go ahead and gush, moms love gushing.”

“I don't even know where to start, it's not like I have much opportunity to gush. Her being a secret kind of ruins that,” Lena said, feeling slightly horrified with her own admission. What kind of mother was lost for words when told to brag about their child? 

Kara picked up on Lena's reaction right away. “Like you just were about her napping. It can be something random, like what's her favorite pizza topping?”

Lena relaxed again. “You'll have a bone to pick with her about pizza, she's never had it before.”

“Lena!”

Lena couldn't help but to laugh, Kara looked distraught. “What?”

“WHY has she never had pizza? Why are you depriving your child of the most wonderful food creation this planet has to offer? Don't tell me she's a vegan too.”

“So quick to judge, gosh. The poor kid has a dairy allergy,” Lena said, readying herself for Kara's next wave of shock. 

“Oh my god, no ice cream either?!”

And there it was. “You do realize there is a wide variety of dairy free ice creams out there.”

Kara visibly pouted. “What am I supposed to bond with her over? I was making great plans to finally have a partner to take down your kale regime.”

Lena's felt her heart swell, sitting up to cup Kara's cheek with one hand, capturing her lips in a kiss. 

“What was that for?” Kara asked after they pulled apart, echoing Lena's same question from before, though she said with eyes shining and a lack of bite behind her voice.

“You're really in for this, aren't you?”

“If you'll have me. I'm not going anywhere.”

Lena lay back in her lap, a warmth spreading in her chest. “Promise?”

Kara leaned over her, pressing another kiss to her lips. “Promise.”

As they settled back in, it turned out Lena could gush about Lorraine and prompting from Kara wasn’t necessary. Lo loved tea before bedtime, was a master at monkey bars, had a scar across her left eyebrow because of said monkey bars, had an obsession with Star Wars that rivaled Winn even though the Emperor had a tendency to scare the shit out of her, her career goals were currently an astronaut and the president, she was constantly begging Lena to let her wear lipstick, (covering the majority of her face with it when left momentarily unattended,) and she could absolutely not sleep without her Lovie, a small blanket that she’d had forever. 

The conversation slowed eventually, Lena growing tired and running out of fun facts. She had ahold of one of Kara's hands, keeping it in place on one of her shoulders. “Do you think you want to meet her, officially?” She asked. “You could come over for breakfast tomorrow.”

Squeezing her shoulder, Kara cracked a smile. “I'd love to.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yikes, definitely did not mean to wait this long to update. IN MY DEFENSE, I started posting this while living in Paris for a month. Then I was backpacking around Europe and got back to the U.S. three weeks ago. Hope you enjoy!

Going into the lobby of Lena's building felt weird. Her actual apartment may be modest, but she still lived in one of the most expensive, highly sought after buildings in town. The lobby was covered in marble, an enormous, well-equipped aquarium in the middle of the room in front of the elevators. The front desk was to her right, two concierge clerks typing away at computers, a security guard standing behind them. 

“Ma’am?” The security guard grabbed Kara's attention.

“Um, hi.” Kara turned towards the desk, fiddling with her glasses.

One of the concierge clerks looked up. “Are you Miss Luthor’s guest, Kara Danvers?” His voice was short but his stern expression fell as he saw a look of confusion on Kara's face. “All residents submit any guests they have to us as well as a photograph. I know it seems like a lot but we have many high profile residents and this ensures no unwelcome visitors.”

“Of course, I, uh, I am Kara Danvers. Do you need to see ID or anything?” Kara asked, reaching for her purse. 

“Yes.”

Kara fumbled with her purse, having to put the white pastry bag she was holding on the desk to fish out her driver’s license. She had stopped at a vegan bakery on the way, feeling she couldn't show up empty handed. “Here you go.” She finally got her ID out and waited with a smile as it was thoroughly checked. 

“Thank you Miss Danvers, we will let Miss Luthor know you are on your way up.” The clerk handed the license back. “I assume you know which elevator to take?”

“Yup, number three,” Kara said, remembering the instructions Lena had sent her that morning. “Thanks, have a good morning!” She flashed a toothy grin before grabbing the pastry bag and starting for the marked elevator. The doors slid open, no doubt by some control by the front desk and she stepped in, hitting the button for the twenty-seventh floor. The doors closed, the back of it mirrored so Kara could see herself. Luckily, all the nerves she was feeling on the inside weren't showing. She tugged at her dress, feeling slightly overdressed. It was 8:30 am on a Saturday, a time she usually only spent in pajamas, barring any Supergirl interruptions. She just wanted to make a good impression, she wanted Lorraine to like her. 

She had almost called Alex that morning. Somewhere in between brushing her teeth and braiding her hair, she wanted to panic. It took a few deep breaths, the fact that she was going to see _Lena_ , and that Alex would personally drag her to the kryptonite training room and smack her if she woke her up before 8. It was silly, she could do this. She had already charmed one Luthor, how hard could it be to win over another?

The elevator finally reached floor twenty-seven, giving a little ding as the doors opened. Lena's apartment was supposedly just down the hall to the right, Kara stopping in front of door 2704. Taking a deep breath, she knocked three times. Moments later the door swung open, Kara met with the last thing she would expect; Lena Luthor, sans makeup, hair down in soft waves, clad in head to toe Lulu Lemon workout clothes, Taylor Swift music blaring in the background.

“Hi!” Lena greeted with a smile and a quick peck on Kara's lips as she let her in. “How was it coming through the real entrance? I hope Jeremy at the desk didn’t give you too tough of a time.”

“It was fine,” Kara waved off her concern. “I come bearing gifts.” She held up the white paper bag, handing it to Lena. “Lemon blueberry muffin for you and a Snickerdoodle donut for Lorraine, all vegan and gluten free from that place down the road.”

“Ooh, their baked good are deadly, thanks Kara.” Lena led her down the hall towards the main living area. “Though I'm not sure you're going to want to give Lo sugar once you see what's going down here. I got her to do yoga with me earlier but only with the promise of a post-workout dance party, hence the Taylor Swift.”

Kara stopped, putting a feigned hand of surprise to her chest before they could round the corner into the main living area. “This isn’t your doing ? I was going to write a Catco exposé on your hidden love for T Swift.” 

Raising an eyebrow, Lena smirked. “Well I am into blondes.” 

“Hey.” Kara knocked her shoulder into Lena’s gently. She felt her nerves start melting away, Lena, as usual, serving as a calming presence. She hadn’t really known what she was expecting, maybe that ‘mom’ Lena would be different than the woman she had been getting to know all these months. She didn’t have any mom friends and didn’t really know if there would even be a difference. But she had seen strong, pronounced, calculated, business Lena. She had witnessed cold,emotionally struggling Lena. And now, she knew, when truly comfortable, Lena was soft, warm, snarky, and really, really funny. And the Lena that greeted her at the door was just that. 

Lena herself, looked like she could use a bit more yoga, her forehead etched in a tense crinkle much like Kara's own signature tell. “Are you ready to witness the madness that is my usual Saturday morning?”

Kara genuinely was, nodding as she grasped onto Lena's hand in response, letting her pull her the rest of the way in. What she saw was a much different kid than the sleep-addled one from the night before. Lorraine was in a mauve leotard with ruffled shoulders, knee-high knit socks, and had her hair in two buns. The music video for Shake It Off was playing on TV and the little girl was feeling it, prancing across the living room in a series of uncoordinated twirls and leg kicks. “Oh, my, god.”

Lena set the pastry bag down and grabbed her tiny cup of espresso from the counter, taking a sip. “Unfortunately I think I'm to blame for those sick moves.”

“It’s really cute,” Kara said, squeezing Lena's hand. She lowered her voice, Lorraine not noticing her arrival just yet. “So, how's this going to go? This introduction I mean.”

Lena downed the rest of her espresso, taking a moment before speaking. “I didn't really have a plan. It’s not like I do this often, I guess I just want the two of you to get to know each other. Do you want coffee? I can make you a latte.”

“I'm good,” Kara assured, picking up on her accelerated heartbeat, caused by her caffeine intake no doubt. “I'll just follow your lead on all of this, okay?” 

“Okay.” Lena took a deep breath, putting her cup under the espresso machine again, pressing the button to make more. She dropped Kara’s hand, a nervous thumbnail going to her mouth. “You look really nice.”

Kara looked down at her dress, she would be lying if she said she hadn’t tried on at least twelve others before finally deciding on the light blue number. “Thanks, you’re not looking so bad yourself.” She would also be lying if she said Lena in all spandex wasn’t a complete turn on. “Very athletic.” 

“Shut up. I’m only wearing this because Lo insisted we dress the part for yoga. I usually do it in my pajamas. She picked this out for me.”

“She did a pretty good job, though I wouldn’t complain if she had picked a matching version of her outfit for you,” Kara joked, the notion of Lena Luthor parading around in a leotard and knee highs too hysterical to not mention. 

“There is no way I could pull that off.”

Before Kara could remind her girlfriend that she was actually the most beautiful human being she had ever met, (for real, the woman could wear a garbage bag and still look incredible,) Lorraine crashed to the floor on a twirl gone wrong, socked feet slipping on the hardwood. “I'm okay!!” she yelled out seconds after impact. 

A hand immediately went to Lena's eyes, signaling that this was definitely not the first time it had happened that morning. Kara couldn't hold back a laugh. The music video finished up, Lo racing for the remote. 

“Lorraine,” Lena called, grabbing her attention. “Come here, there's someone I want you to meet.”

Lo put the remote down with a sigh, grabbing a travel cup full of green smoothie off the coffee table. She stopped in front of the two women. “You were here last night,” she observed, an arm looping around her mother’s leg. 

Setting her own cup down, Lena squatted down to Lo’s level. “She was. This is Kara, you remember I told you about her?”

Lorraine leaned into Lena, suddenly a little shy despite her blunt opening statement. “Yeah.”

Following Lena's lead, Kara knelt down. “It's nice to meet you Lorraine.” There was a slight nervousness still settled in the pit of her stomach. She didn't know why, she was good with kids, as Kara and as Supergirl. Kids usually loved her. 

Lo looked at Kara for a moment before burying her face in Lena's arm.

Lena shot Kara a sympathetic glance, running a hand up and down Lo’s back. “What's got you feeling all shy? Kara already saw your crazy dancing, no need to get embarrassed now.”

“Just shy…” Lorraine's voice was muffled as she stayed put against her mom. 

“That’s okay, but you're going to have to pull your face out if you want the donut that Kara brought for you.”

After a few seconds of silence, Lo turned her head to look at Kara again. “You got me a donut?”

Kara nodded, happy she had thought to stop and get the treat. She had figured most kids were food motivated like she had been. “Yup. It's snickerdoodle flavored, do you like that kind?”

Lorraine looked back up at Lena. “Mama is that the cinnamon kind?” After a nod from Lena, Lo’s eyes lit up. “I love that kind!” The bout of shyness seemed to be over as the little girl was bouncing on her toes again. “Can I do another song?” 

“Sure, that's fine.” Lena stole a quick look at Kara before turning back to Lo. “Maybe you could have Kara help you while I finish up breakfast.”

Lorraine’s little brow furrowed. She took a long sip from her smoothie and seemingly gave Kara a lookover. “Does she know Trolls?”

Lena laughed. “Ask her yourself babe.”

“Um, Kara?” Lorraine took a step forward, chewing on the straw of her cup. “You know Trolls?”

Kara didn't want to freak Lorraine out by being too enthusiastic too fast. She knew kids needed to move at their own pace in terms of connecting to others. When she had come to Earth, the last thing she wanted was adults acting as if they knew what she needed socially. It had been Alex’s initial apprehensive nature that had helped their close relationship now. She hadn’t forced herself into Kara’s life, they were able to warm up to each other on their own terms. She gave Lo a small smile, standing up to her full height again. “I do know Trolls.” She was an grown up with a soft spot for Disney films, sue her. “Do you want to show me your favorite song?”

“Yeah.” Lo slid on her socks back towards the living room, hopping down the step into the sunken room with a pronounced thud. She grabbed the remote off the couch and handed it to Kara. “Can you type? It's Poppy’s song. You know that one?” Lo’s voice was still muffled around the straw as she took another sip of her smoothie. 

“Of course! Did you know it's my favorite too?”

Lena grabbed her espresso from under the machine, stealing a glance to see what was going down in the other room. Lo wasn't an antisocial kid, but it wasn't like Lena introduced her to people often, her circle was pretty small. She didn't really know how Lo was going to react to Kara. So far, it seemed like it was going well. She watched the two interact for another minute, Lo’s jaw dropping when Kara knew all the lyrics, before busying herself with the pancake batter, scooping some out onto a hot griddle. By the time breakfast was ready Kara and Lo were both on the floor, giggling over yet _another_ twirl catastrophe, she really needed to put her kid in a helmet. 

Lorraine caught her eye as she stood at the threshold of the living room. “Is it time for food?”

“Yes ma’am,” Lena nodded. “Are you two best friends already?”

“She can sing just like Poppy!” Lo offered as an answer, already up and scrambling to the table. 

Lena offered Kara a hand to help her off the floor. “I didn't know I was dating a troll.”

“I don't know if I should be offended by that or not.” Kara let Lena pull her up, immediately wrapping an arm around her once she was standing. 

“Poppy is like a celebrity in this house so it should be an honor,” Lena joked. She leaned into Kara, lowering her voice. “You're amazing with her.”

A blush spread on Kara's face. It hadn’t been hard to get along the miniature Luthor. All the worries she had felt on the elevator ride were officially gone. “She’s amazing.” She snuck a kiss on Lena's cheek. “Just like you.”

“Hey, I want to eat!!!”

Lorraine was perched at her seat at the table, the only chair with a booster seat strapped to it, fork in hand. Lena ran a hand through her hair, shaking her head. “Sit all the way down you bum, you could at least pretend to have manners while Kara is here,” she quipped. 

Giving an eye roll beyond her years, Lo did as she was told, sitting all the way down. “I’m so sorry Mama.”

“You sound very sorry.” Lena failed at hiding a smirk. “Would you like some eggs?”

“Yes please.”

“Eggs? What happened to veganism?” Kara asked, sitting down as well. 

“They’re for the kid, she loves them.” Lena scraped a helping onto Lo’s plate. “I personally don’t like eating what comes out of a chicken butt.”

“I do!”

Kara began helping herself to the food on the table, shooting a wink towards Lo. “Me too.”

“Well I hate to break it to the two of you, but the pancakes are, in fact, vegan,” Lena said, taking off the tinfoil she had put over the plate to keep the pancakes warm. 

Lorraine made grabby hands towards the plate. “That’s okay, they are so, so yummy. I want four.”

“Why don’t you start with one,” Lena suggested tossing one on her plate, quickly slicing it into strips. “You have that donut Kara got you too.”

“Oh yeah!”

“And you have a muffin,” Kara reminded Lena. 

“How could I forget?” Lena slid the syrup in Lo’s direction. “Keep the syrup to pancake ratio to a minimum please,” she warned, trusting the four-year-old with the jug. 

“I know, I know, I know.” Lo took the jug with both hands, going to dump the syrup all over her plate. 

Kara watched as the glass jug slipped in one of Lo’s small hands, a giant gush of syrup about to spill all over. Her reflexes reacted and she slipped a quick hand, (she may or may not have used super speed,) to steady the jug, shooting Lo a little smile. 

“Thanks.” Lo finished with the syrup, giving both Kara and Lena a sheepish look. 

“So Mama’s a vegan and you're not?” Kara changed the subject back. “How'd you manage that Lo?”

Lorraine took the question face value, chewing thoroughly before answering. “Mama says being a vegan is more harder for kids ‘cause you gotta be careful to make sure you get all your good things for your body. She says I can be a vegan when I'm big but I don't want to. I like chicken nuggets and eggs.”

“The kid likes protein, I’m not going to deny her of it because of my dietary choices,” Lena said, taking a bite of pancake.

“It makes me strong like Supergirl!” Lo stood up on her chair, trying to flex her biceps. 

Kara broke out into a laugh as Lena tried coaxing Lo back into a sitting position. With another giggle, Kara leaned over towards Lo. “Want to know a secret?” Lena looked a bit nervous like Kara was going to spill the Kryptonian beans but Lo nodded enthusiastically, leaning in as well. “Supergirl told me that chicken nuggets are her favorite and that they’re the main reason she’s stronger than Superman.” Kara half-whispered, a serious expression on her face. 

While Lena’s eyes resisted rolling to the back of her head, Lo’s widened in excitement. “Mama! Did you hear that?!”

“I did.”

“Maybe if you had nuggets too then maybe you would be way stronger,” Lo advised through a mouthful of egg. 

“Can’t argue with that,” Kara added. “Supergirl _and_ Lorraine approved.” 

“You two are ridiculous.” Lena took a sip of water. “It’s not going to happen.”

Kara could only laugh. She hadn’t known what she was expecting from the morning, but whatever this was, was surpassing any expectations. Stealing a glance in Lo’s direction, she caught her giggling as well, giving Kara a look she usually only got as Supergirl. It was a look of admiration and she was used to it when she was out superhero-ing, it made sense. But getting it as plain, old Kara Danvers, melted her dang heart.

/////

An hour later found Kara and Lena on the couch, legs intertwined as they sat facing each other. After chattering through the entirety of the meal, Lo had retired to the mini armchair by her art table, playing on her iPad. 

Kara had fallen victim to Lena’s pleas and had let her girlfriend make her a latte with her fancy coffee machine. Lena had attempted a heart in the milk foam but the almond milk she had to use proved difficult, a pronounced blob all she could manage. Not that Kara cared, it was adorable watching Lena play barista. “Would you believe me if I told you I was really nervous this morning?” she asked, hands warming around her mug. 

“Unfortunately I lack the ability to listen to people’s heartbeats and know if they’re nervous or not, so no. You actually played it pretty cool.” Lena arched a brow, digging her feet under Kara’s. She had since slipped on a fleece and fuzzy socks but was apparently still cold. 

“I didn’t stay nervous for long.” Kara sighed. “It’s actually kind of weird how normal this feels.”

“Good weird?”

“Yes good weird. Like all my Saturdays should be filled with pancakes and dance parties.”

Lena poked a foot up at Kara’s thigh. “Yeah, you and Lo were really going for it. I didn’t know you had such vast Disney knowledge. Are you sure you aren’t the one with a secret child?” she teased. 

Kara shook her head, setting her latte down on the coffee table. “Being an alien is as secret as I get. You don’t have any other life changing secrets for me, do you?”

Lena got closer, lowering her voice. “Well, I suppose I should tell you this too.” She took a dramatic breath. “I'm gay.”

“Good to know,” Kara giggled, moving in as well, their faces barely an inch from each other. She went to close in the gap before stopping and pulling back. “Wait Lo is right there and, um, are we going to have rules about PDA in front of her.”

“No having sex in front of her,” Lena responded cheekily, trying to keep a straight face. She peeked over the couch at Lo, giant headphones on and legs crossed, completely engrossed with her tablet. “And she so isn't paying attention to us right now so it doesn’t matter.” Pulling Kara in again, she left no gap between their lips this time. 

/////

That night, Lena took her time getting Lo ready for bed. When there was time for it, quiet nights with Lo were her favorite. With Lo bathed, smelling of coconut and lavender, and tucked up into bed in cozy pajamas, Lena could lay next to her and the two of them would alternate reading, sing as many songs as Lo wanted, or could simply talk. Lo was an articulate kid for her age and Lena always marveled at the little stories she told or the occasional wacky things she would bring up. They had gone through an extremely enthusiastic and musical reading of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and had read Babar the Elephant in both French and English, (Lena wasn’t pushing the whole bilingual thing but she certainly wasn’t discouraging it,) before settling back, Lena putting the books onto the bedside table. 

Lo grabbed her Lovie, cuddling it up to her face and turning towards Lena. “Mama, is Kara coming to breakfast again?”

“I don’t know.” Lena lay down and turned to face Lo as well. “Did you have fun with her today?”

“So fun. She was really nice and she sings real good and she smells like popsicles. I like her.”

Lena couldn’t help the smile that took over her face. She was going to have to tell Kara about the popsicle thing. “I really like her too.”

“So can she come over tomorrow?”

Lena wasn’t opposed to the idea, but she also didn’t want to overwhelm Kara with everything. Kara had been incredible all day with Lo, she just didn’t want to push it. “I don’t know babe, maybe you can call her tomorrow morning.”

Lo let out a monster yawn. “Am I still a secret?”

“What?”

Rubbing her eyes, Lo pressed her Lovie to her face. “Kara knows me now. So that means I’m not a secret anymore.”

Lena’s heart sank. The topic didn’t come up often, but whenever it did, it made her feel like shit. The truth was, she had wanted to reveal Lorraine as soon as she had moved to National City. It was supposed to be a fresh start for the both of them. But then the attack on her renaming ceremony had happened and she pushed it back, and then Lillian and Cadmus had happened and she pushed it back further. At this point, she didn’t know what constituted the right time for it. “Not yet.”

“Soon?”

“Soon,” Lena echoed, reaching to tuck a piece of Lo’s hair back behind her ear. “I promise. I know how much you don’t like it, I don’t like it either. It’s pretty hard hiding someone as brilliant as you sweets.” After smoothing her hair down, Lena moved to poke the little girl’s side. 

“Mama!” Lorraine squirmed, failing to get away from tickling fingers. 

Lena stopped after a few more squeals, settling back into the pillows again. Lo huffed a sigh of relief, snuggling into her. “I love you so much,” Lena murmured, lips pressed against Lo’s dark hair. 

Lo buried her face into Lena, her eyelashes fluttering against Lena’s collarbone. “I love you the freakin’ mostest Mama.” 

/////

Kara did come over for breakfast again the next day, and stayed all the way through dinner. Barring any Supergirl emergencies, it started to become routine that Kara came over as soon as Lena was done with work for the next two weeks. Lorraine was absolutely loving it and Lena was happy, how could she not be? But there was still this feeling that it was too good. Most things in her life didn't work out in her favor and she was always apprehensive when things started looking up, she was always waiting for the other shoe to drop. After yet another bliss filled weekend, Lena couldn't shake a feeling in the pit of her stomach Monday morning. Something was wrong.

There was no clear reason for her to feel this way. Genevieve had come to take Lo to school that morning, and despite a wardrobe dispute, (Lo wanted to wear jeans, a t-shirt and a furry vest while it was over 80 degrees outside,) nothing was out of the ordinary with that. Kara had swung by shortly after she had gotten to the office for a good morning kiss and to drop off her coffee. Again, completely normal. But Lena still sat rigid during her 10:30 conference call, chewing on her lower lip and tapping a pen nervously on her desk. She had no sooner hung up the call when her personal cell phone rang, Kara’s name and the string of emojis Lo had decided to put afterwards popping up on the screen. 

“Kara, hey-”

“Are you in your office?” Kara cut her off, voice accompanied by the rushing sound of air, meaning she was flying. 

“Yes. What’s-”

“Lena I need you to lock your door and stay away from the windows. Don’t do anything else until you hear from me or Alex, okay?” 

“Okay.” Heart pounding, Lena ran over to the double doors, turning the lock. She gave a quick glance outside before heading for her private bathroom. “Kar, what’s going on?” 

“Someone started open firing in the L-Corp lobby. DEO thinks they have a connection with Lex. I have to go. Stay safe.” The wind had stopped, Kara was probably downstairs. 

“You too,” was all Lena managed before the line was cut off. She locked the bathroom door as well, sliding down the tiled wall and bringing her knees to her chest. 

There was that other fucking shoe.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A sleepover at the DEO.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who updates at 2:30 am?? ME. This took longer than expected but it is LONG. If you like it, review!! (plz, I'm needy and thrive on validation.)

Lena had been in shitty situations before. She had been in near death situations before, but they never, ever got easier. Her first thought was Lorraine, always. 

As Lena sat on the bathroom floor of her office, she tried to put her mind at ease. It was still early, Lo was at school. As crazed as her adoptive family was, they wouldn’t attack a preschool class. She was _fine_. Letting out a shaky breath, Lena tried hard not to let herself start panicking. Lo was safe. 

Her second thought was Kara, downstairs fighting. Kara was an alien but she wasn’t invincible. Lena knew it and Lex knew it too. He came close to killing Superman many times before he was put away, who knows what kind of weapons his followers had. 

Lena felt sick as her brain moved to her third concern, her employees. Jess, Hector, god, Larry the doorman. All of these people who came to work for her, despite her family name, people that expected to come to work and simply do their jobs, not get shot at. They could be hurt, they could be dead. 

Curling up tighter, Lena willed herself to not think the worst while she sat there and did nothing. She struggled to stop the uneven heaving of her chest, burying her face in her knees. 

It was going to be okay. It was. 

/////

Lena didn’t know how long it took to calm herself down. Looking at her watch, it had barely been fifteen minutes since she had locked herself in the bathroom, but it had felt like much longer. She took a deep breath, the tightness in her chest gradually dissipating as she continued to breathe in through her nose and out through her mouth, slowly, methodically. 

A soft knock broke her concentration, a gentle, “It’s Alex,” coming through the door. 

Using the wall for support, Lena stood back up, a bit wobbly in her heels, unlocking and opening the door. “Where’s Kara?”

Alex didn’t look miffed that it was the first thing she had asked about. “She’s wrapping things up with Maggie downstairs. She sent me to make sure you were okay.” She held up Kara’s copy of the L-Corp office keys as explanation on how she got in. “Are you okay?”

“I’m-” Lena had to stop to take another deep breath, now using the doorframe as support. Being upright after hyperventilating had caused little black dots to invade her vision. 

“Let’s go sit, you look like you’re about to pass out,” Alex said, putting an arm around Lena and starting for the couch. 

Lena let Alex lead her over, squeezing her eyes shut as she sank into the cushions. “I’m sorry, I really am fine, I just… is anyone…” She couldn’t bring herself to say the word ‘dead’ but Alex seemed to read her mind. 

“Nobody was killed, the doorman was knocked unconscious when the men forced their way in but he was lucid and talking to EMTs before I came up here, mild concussion at most. Kara got here really quickly,” Alex reassured.

“Has anyone gone to check on Lorraine?”

“Kara made J’onn go as soon as we knew it had something to do with Lex. Nothing out of the ordinary there.”

The information made Lena feel better, her vision clearing. “Good.” Her shoulders dropped, her body relaxing. “That’s good.”

“Little bit of an anxiety attack?” Alex asked knowingly. 

“Yeah.” Lena smoothed out her rumpled pencil skirt. “I’m fine now, but after Kara called me and I couldn’t do anything but wait…” She paused, she really didn’t want to get into it. “I just hate feeling helpless, you know?”

“I do.”

There was something in Alex’s tone that made Lena turn away. It wasn’t anything rude or condescending, it was understanding, warm, sisterly. And of course her knee jerk reaction to anyone actually caring about her wellbeing was to turn away. She had gotten much better with Kara, she was _Kara_. But Lena’s sibling track record was pretty dismal, it was easiest to blame her apprehension with Alex on the whole Lex of it all, their similar names certainly not a pleasant coincidence. She offered a small smile but moved to tuck a leg beneath her, increasing the distance between them. 

The shift didn’t go unnoticed, Alex giving a small sigh. “Kara should be up here soon.”

Lena nodded, arms crossing across her chest. She went back to her methodical breathing, in through her nose, out through her mouth. 

It wasn’t long before the balcony doors flew open. “Lena!!” Kara burst in, making a beeline for the couch, practically pouncing on her girlfriend to envelope her up in a hug. 

Lena didn’t know how badly she needed a hug until Kara was on top of her. She wrapped her arms around her as well, fingers tangling in the soft fabric of the cape, face pressing into the roughness of the suit. 

“I’m sorry about my call, I know it was a lot to drop on you and I didn’t have a lot of time but I couldn’t have you not knowing and I wanted you to go somewhere safe. I wanted to make sure you wouldn’t go try and stop it yourself because you do that sometimes and I really didn’t want you to get hurt. And I sent Alex up first because I had to wait until Maggie and the rest of NCPD showed up and I didn’t want you to worry. Are you okay?” Kara rambled, keeping Lena in her embrace. 

“Bit shaken, but I’ll survive,” Lena admitted, mumbling into the fabric, knowing Kara would still be able to hear her.

Giving a final squeeze, Kara finally broke their contact, squishing herself in between Lena and Alex despite Alex’s yelp of protest as she got shoved over. “I already sent J’onn to do a perimeter check at Lo’s school. I had a feeling you’d want to make sure she was okay too.”

“Alex told me.” Lena took a look at her watch. “Gen’s going to be picking up soon. And I have to, I need to, shit. I need to put out a statement, I need to call Jess.”

Alex’s phone buzzed, and after a quick look, she stood up. “The police are working on evacuating the building, employees are being told to go home and wait for an email. Whatever conversation you need to have with Jess is going to need to happen en route, we need to get you out of here.”

Kara was at her feet again immediately. “What’s going on?”

“Lena, tell your nanny to bring your daughter to the DEO. Winn just got notified that your apartment’s security system is down.” Alex shoved her phone in her pocket. “The DEO is the safest place right now. J’onn wants you both in protective custody until we can figure out what’s going on.”

Lena’s heart went to her throat again, but she swallowed hard, squeezing Kara’s hand and pushing the fear from her mind. “Okay, let’s go.”

/////

Despite keeping her facial expressions in check, Lena wouldn’t be surprised if she started wearing down the floor of the DEO lobby with her pacing, hands wringing together. She knew the nerves would subside as soon as Gen got there with Lo but she sure as shit was not in control of her anxiety levels after the morning she’d had. Kara had left as soon as they got there, doing a sweep of the city, Alex heading to the lab to analyze the weapons they had taken from the shooters. Lena had an ever expanding list in her head of the things she needed to get done for L-Corp, but first, she needed to see her kid.

The elevator doors opened, thankfully revealing Genevieve and Lorraine, looking absolutely ridiculous in the outfit she had chosen that morning, Gen’s sunglasses positioned lopsided on her face. 

“Hi Mama!” Lo yelled across the lobby as soon as she spotted her mother. She made sure to carefully hand Gen her glasses back before breaking out into a full sprint towards Lena. 

For the second time that day, Lena was tackle-hugged, Lorraine’s small size making hers a little less aggressive. Lo was still at the age where even a few hours apart warranted this dramatic of a reunion and Lena did not mind one bit, she needed it today. Pulling Lo off of her legs, she swung her up, settling her on her hip. “Hey Peanut, how was school?”

Lo looped her arms around Lena’s neck, taking a quick breath before launching into a Kara-level ramble. “We did painting and I didn’t even get any on my shirt and me and Finn sat by each other it was really good, he’s so handsome. What the heck is this place Mama? We never been here before. What’s for lunch?”

Gen finally reached them, handing over Lorraine’s backpack. “She’s been talking about food since I picked her up, apparently she didn’t like her snack today.”

“I gave you apple slices with almond butter, what was wrong with them?”

“The apples were brown.”

Lena honestly could have cried at the normalcy of the conversation. Instead, she hugged Lo close with a sigh, head shaking. “Thank you so much for bringing her here Gen, I know it was out of the way for you.”

“It’s no problem and you know it Lena,” Gen assured. “The circumstances aren’t the best, but who am I to complain about an afternoon off.”

Adjusting Lo to her other hip, Lena slipped the backpack onto her free shoulder. “And that is why you’re the best, I’ll keep you updated on the rest of the week and if we need to change your schedule around.”

Gen smiled warmly. “Just let me know. Bye Lolo.” She gave the little girl’s shoulder a squeeze. 

“Bye bye GenGen.” Lo gave a floppy wave, head resting on Lena’s shoulder. 

Lena took a moment to just hold Lo as Gen walked away. Genevieve had been Lo’s nanny since infancy, being the only candidate to make it through both Lena and Lillian’s vetting processes. She was strong, intelligent and knew just which answers Lillian needed to hear. On the other end, Lena knew she could trust her with her life and she had been nothing short of perfect with Lorraine. She had made the move from Metropolis to National City with them and was never phased at the schedule changes or emergency situations that came along with being associated with a Luthor, like today. Lena really needed to give the girl another raise. 

“Mama, why aren’t we at home?” Lo broke Lena’s thoughts, a finger toying with one of her earrings. 

“There was a situation at Mama’s work this morning,” Lena answered honestly. “We have to make sure everything is all safe at home before we go there. Right now we’re at the DEO, the people that work here are helping.”

“Did Grandma do something bad again?”

“Something like that.” Lena combed her fingers through Lo’s tangled hair, hoping she didn’t press the issue. “How about we go find you some food?”

“Okay.”

Lena started for the back kitchen, one of the first rooms Kara had shown her when touring her around the DEO for the first time. Lo tucked her head into the crook of Lena’s neck, hiding her face. Lena wasn’t surprised, a group of agents had just come out of one of the rooms. Charismatic little thing as she was, the DEO in all its covert government operations glory, wasn’t particularly friendly looking to a four-year-old. Lena could relate, her first introduction to the DEO hadn’t been a warm one, her last name looming heavily over her. She was lucky to have Kara with her, thwarting any nasty looks sent her way with a glare of her own. Not that she couldn’t handle it, but it was nice to have someone on her side.

“I was thinking this might be the first place you guys would come.” Kara sat at the head of the large, metal table, a few bags sitting in front of her. 

Lo’s head popped up at the sound of a familiar voice. “Kara?” She wriggled around enough for Lena to let her down, climbing up on the stool next to Kara. “Hi! What’s that?” Lo pointed at the bags.

“It’s lunchtime and I figured everyone must be as hungry as me so I picked up some food.” Kara stood, pulling Lena into a quick side hug, pressing a kiss to her temple. “I’ve got…” she pulled out a plastic container full of greens, “some delicious looking leaves for Lena.”

“Ew Mama, leaves?”

“It’s salad, Lo.”

“And let’s see,” Kara dug in the bag again, “a sandwich for Miss Lorraine, a classic peanut butter and jelly, no leaves for the nugget.”

“Hey, sometimes I like the leaves, I like kale and spinach and um, arugula,” Lo listed, completely butchering the pronunciation of arugula. “Oh and, Mama what are the little leaves you put on my tacos?”

“Cilantro.”

“Yeah I like those too.”

“If your identical faces weren’t enough proof, she is definitely your child,” Kara chuckled. “I also got carrots, chocolate almond milk, and Skittles.” She tossed the rest of the food onto the table. 

“You know you don’t have to bribe her with sugar every time you see her,” Lena said, watching Lo’s eyes go wide at the enormous packet of candy. “She likes you just fine without it.”

Kara cocked her head to the side. “Yeah, so?”

“I’ll send you the dentist bill when she has craters for cavities at her next check up.”

With another laugh, Kara broke into the Chinese takeout she brought for herself, snapping apart a pair of chopsticks. 

After portioning out an adequate amount of carrots that had to be eaten before the Skittles were even opened, Lena turned her attention to her own food. She wasn’t particularly hungry, the morning events squandering her appetite. She managed a few bites before pushing it away, the pings from her phone taking precedence. It was the board, it was Jess, it was press requests, it was everything. Her phone buzzed again, Jess was calling. “Do you mind if I take this?” she asked, showing Kara the screen. 

“Go ahead, we’re good.” Kara picked up one of the carrots, reaching out to poke Lo in the nose with it. 

With a heavy sigh, Lena pushed back from the table, taking her phone out into the hallway.

“Hey Kara?” Lo asked, taking a monster bite of carrot.

“What’s up?”

“Is this your work?”

“No, I work at Catco. I get to write about things going on in the city, and sometimes, I get to write about your Mama,” Kara answered, her and Lena had made the decision to hold off on telling Lorraine the Supergirl secret for now. “But I come here all the time because my big sister works here.”

“You have a big sister?”

“I told you about her, her name is Alex.”

“Are you talking about me?” Alex entered from a side door, dropping down at the table next to Kara. “I’m guessing this is Lorraine.”

Lo didn’t say anything, suddenly very interested in her shoes, stealing a glance in the direction Lena had exited. 

Kara picked up on the mood shift, scooting closer to Lo. “Hey Lo, this is my sister Alex.”

“Okay,” Lo responded quietly, not bringing her eyes up.

Deciding not to pressure Lo into socializing, Kara simply gave her shoulder a squeeze before turning to her sister. “Do you have any updates?”

“Um…” Alex looked over at the disinterested little girl before divulging Kara in the latest. “I talked it over with J’onn and he thinks it’s best if Lena and Lorraine spend the night here. We can’t guarantee anything in regards to a team outside the apartment building. And there is no way you can stay in a good headspace to do anything tonight if you’re worried about their safety.”

Kara set her glasses on the table. “He wants us all to stay overnight?”

“We’ve got the bunk room in the back.” Alex lowered her voice. “I know it’s not ideal but it’s the best we’ve got for now. Winn didn’t want to tell you but he monitors L-Corp regularly-”

“Why?” Kara cut in, thinking the worst. She could never stand her friends apprehension in trusting Lena.

“For safety and for any information on Lillian, it’s nothing personal. Either way, he didn’t get an alert when the shooting happened. We didn’t get wind of it until it hit police scanners.”

Shaking her head, Kara put her glasses back on. “She can’t catch a break.”

“Hopefully we can get it all figured out tonight, I know Winn is planning on staying as late as it takes. He overheard J’onn and I and started ranting about making DEO pajamas/” 

“That’s actually not the worst idea, we do spend a lot of nights here,” Kara said.

Alex snorted. “His initial pitch was a hooded onesie.”

A sniffle from Lo drew Kara’s attention, finding the little Luthor’s lower lip wobbling dangerously, eyes shining with tears. “Oh what’s wrong nugget?”

A tear spilled over. “I don’t want to sleep here.”

Kara mentally kicked herself for not thinking to censor her and Alex’s conversation with Lo around, she was definitely old enough to be aware of what they were talking about. 

Lo’s little voice shook with a sob. “I want Mama.”

Kara had seen Lorraine cry exactly two times since she had met her. Once because she was overtired and grumpy, distraught that the next day was only going to be a Wednesday and not a Saturday like she had thought, and the other time being injury caused, a lesson as to why Lena was always telling her to sit in her chair during meals. A slip and a crash to the floor serving as reason not to do it again. “Mama’s on a call right now,” Kara tried explaining, not knowing if it was alright to interrupt Lena. 

This was not the right response, Lorraine only crying harder. She crawled over onto Kara’s lap, digging her face into Kara’s shoulder. “I want Mama, please.”

Alex shot over a sympathetic look, mouthing a ‘sorry’ for seemingly causing the outburst.

Kara wrapped an arm around Lo, standing and picking her up. “Okay, we can go see what she’s doing, it’s okay.” Making her way out of the kitchen, Kara spotted Lena just down the hallway, leaning against the wall, phone pressed to her ear. Lo started forcing her way out of Kara’s arms as soon as they got close, reaching for Lena. 

“Ma-Mama!”

“Jess, I’ll have to call you back in a few, it’s Lorraine.” Lena ended the call almost immediately, taking the sobbing little one from Kara. Straightening up, she started instinctively swaying as a means to calm Lo down. “What happened?”

“I wa- I wanna,” Lo’s breath hitched with another sob, “I wanna go home!”

Kara felt her face heat up as she retold what had gone down in the last few minutes, feeling a little out of her league as Lena had the tears downsized to little whimpers right away. Lo insisted on staying with Lena as she finished up her calls, Kara going back to the kitchen and slipping into the seat next to Alex. “Sorry about that. Lena thinks she might be a little overwhelmed.”

“It’s fine, I just feel bad that I’m the one that set her off, I’m oh and two with Luthor girls today. What am I doing wrong?”

“What happened with you and Lena?”

“She didn’t look too great when I found her this morning, didn’t want my help or anything. I think she’s a little more freaked than she’s letting on,” Alex said. 

“Lena tends to be a just a little bit repressive.”

“A little?”

“A lot.”

“The two of you seem to have that in common.”

Kara knocked a shoulder into Alex. “Hey, I’m getting better.”

“And Lena?”

Going back to her food, Kara stabbed the last potsticker with one of her chopsticks, popping it into her mouth. “I’ll talk to her about it later.”

Lena came back in after a while with a much happier Lorraine, despite the fact Lena announced she would have to go back to the office. Lo seemed unperturbed, with the promise of quality time with Kara and extra Skittles. With Lena agreeing to, at the very least, bringing Alex along with her for security, Kara found herself alone with Lorraine. Forgoing superhero duty for kid duty, Kara spent the next several hours trying to keep Lo entertained. Winn served as an enormous help, letting her press all kinds of buttons and even coaxing her into a nap by regaling Supergirl stories, complete with silly voices and dramatic sound effects. 

After Lena and Alex got back Lena was pulled away yet again, having to spend far too long on a call with L-Corp’s HR department discussing emergency protocol and crafting a program to reassure employees of their safety when coming back to work. 

With Winn back at his computer, Alex stepped up to help with Lo, the two slowly warming up to each other. Alex brought them into the training room, letting Lo somersault across with mats and letting her play with a pair of nunchucks. 

Lena finally emerged from the office she had been holed up in just before 8 pm looking bleary-eyed and worn out. She found everyone still in the training room, Lo hitting at Kara’s legs with the nunchucks, giggling like a madwoman. 

Kara was the first to notice Lena’s entrance. “She lives!” She moved away from Lo’s swinging, going to give Lena a proper greeting. 

“Hi Mama, I’m a ninja, Alex teached me secret moves!” Lo tried demonstrating what Alex showed her, accidentally smacking herself instead. She dropped the nunchucks dejectedly, dragging her feet over to Lena. “It worked before.”

“You’ll have to show me another time, I bet it was really cool.” Lena pulled Lo into a hug against her legs. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news but it’s bedtime.”

“Aw, five more minutes,” Alex called from her spot on the floor. 

“Yeah, we’re not even tired yet,” Kara drawled, joining in. 

Lena’s exhausted face broke, a smile peeking out. “Not you two dorks, just this little munchkin.” She squished Lo’s cheeks for effect. 

“But you didn’t even get to play with me and I don’t have any jammies and I don’t have Lovie,” Lo said, lower lip beginning to jut out pathetically. 

“I know sweets, I’m sorry.” Lena scooped her up. 

“I can’t even sleep if I don’t have Lovie.” Lo’s voice edged on a whine, curling into her mom.

Alex got up from the floor. “Who’s Lovie?”

“My friend!”

“Her special blanket,” Lena translated, starting to rub Lo’s back. 

Kara bit down on her lip, eyes narrowing in thought for a second. “I think I have an idea for a Lovie replacement for the night.”

“What?”

“How would you feel if we gave a call to Supergirl? I bet if you asked her nicely, she would give you her cape to sleep with,” Kara suggested.

The squeal Lorraine erupted into was confirmation enough for Kara to duck out and ‘make a call to Supergirl’. She stripped down to her suit, waiting a few minutes until a believable amount of time had passed before going back out. Trying her best to maintain her super persona in front of Lo, she kept their interaction short, making an excuse about having to go save a cat. She walked them back out to the lobby, making her flying exit off the balcony as exciting as she could. 

Alex was gone by the time Kara came back in, J’onn sending her to do recon at the prison and Lena had taken Lo into the back bunk room. Getting back into her previous outfit, Kara busied herself for the next half hour or so, waiting for Lena. With Lo finally going down, she wanted to talk to her about how she was doing. After another fifteen minutes sifting through work emails, she went back to the bunk room, opening the door quietly. Lena was sitting up on one of the lower beds, Lo a little red lump beside her. “She asleep?

Scooting to make room, Lena nodded, a hand running up and down Lo’s back. “The cape definitely helped, thank you for that. The few times she’s been without Lovie are usually absolute nightmares.”

Kara sank down next to Lena, smiling at the sight of Lo all wrapped up in her cape. “I thought it might do the trick, it was originally Kal’s baby blanket, you know.”

Lena raised a brow. “You fly around saving the world in a glorified blankie?”

“A _bulletproof_ super badass blanket,” Kara corrected.

“Whatever you say.” Lena let out a breath, taking her hand off Lo’s back. 

“Hey, are you doing okay?” Kara asked. “I don’t want to nag you but,”

“I'm fine.”

“You know that one of the first things Alex taught me about speaking English was that when someone says they’re fine, they’re definitely not fine?” Kara shifted, bringing her legs up on the bed. “You barely ate lunch and you haven't seemed like yourself. You’ve had an insane day and Alex said you were more than a little shaken up when she found you this morning. I’ve been putting it off because you’ve had things to do, but I want you to be able to tell me if you’re not alright.”

“My psychotic brother somehow orchestrated a shooting from jail and I’m spending the night under protective custody because my supposedly secure apartment building isn’t safe enough for Lo and I to go home. I’m great,” Lena said dryly. 

“Lena…”

Keeping her voice hushed, Lena turned to face Kara. “I locked myself in the bathroom after you called. And,” she paused, “every bad outcome that could have possibly happened played out in my head. It wasn’t exactly a good time, god, stop looking at me like that,” Lena was unable to keep a whine from slipping into her voice. Kara’s face was etched with concern, forehead crinkle at the helm. 

“Like what?”

“Like you feel bad for me.”

“I _do_ feel bad for you. You're my girlfriend and you keep getting put in these near-death situations. You don't deserve it. You can’t be upset at me for wanting that to stop.” Kara grabbed onto both of Lena’s hands. “I don’t like watching you stress out.”

“And I don’t like stressing out, but I can hardly help it.”

“I know that,” Kara backtracked. “So what can I do? Anything that could make this just a tiny bit better.”

“You being here, Lo being here, all of us safe, that’s all I need.” Lena softened. “Another hug wouldn’t suck either.”

“Done.” Grinning, Kara sat up on her knees, moving her hands to rest on Lena’s shoulders. “You know Alex told me that when you are hugged longer than twenty seconds, your brain releases oxytocin.”

“Oh yeah?”

Kara nodded. “Time for a thirty-second hug!” She pulled Lena on top of her, falling back on the bed, careful not to squish Lo. 

Lena tried settling into the hug, her body fully on top of Kara’s. “It’s not working.”

Kara tightened her arms. “It’s barely been five seconds, just wait, you’re about to feel great.”

They fell into a silence until Lena felt herself break, she couldn’t help but to giggle. “How long has it been now?”

“Long enough to get you to smile.” Kara loosened her grip on Lena, moving to get up. 

Lena stopped her, inching up so she was back on her chest. “No don’t, you’re warm!”

Lorraine made a little noise in her sleep, flopping over so she was facing away from them, Kara trying to stifle a laugh while shushing Lena. “Let’s go over there,” Kara whispered, pulling Lena up and over to another bunk bed. 

“Why, we should probably get back out there.”

“We don’t have to.” Kara settled against the backboard of this bed, arms still encircling Lena. “We can go save the world in twenty minutes.”

“Kara…”

“We’ll go if there’s an emergency, I’m just not done trying to make you feel better yet.”

A warmth pooled in Lena’s stomach, her thoughts wandering to what Kara usually did to take her mind off things. “You know Lo is _right_ there.”

“Get your mind out of the gutter Lena Luthor, I was referring to some good, clean, cuddling.”

“The other stuff makes me feel better though.”

Kara let out a small gasp, eyes gleaming with a smirk. “I don’t know what you’re insinuating, it stays PG in the DEO bunk room.”

“Well I should certainly hope so,” J’onn said, both women startling at his sudden presence. He paid no mind as the two scurried into standing positions, looking guiltier than necessary. “Miss Luthor, Agent Schott has requested your assistance. He phrased it as being in need of a ‘tech buddy’. Should I let him know you’ll be out in a moment?”

“Yes.”

J’onn paused before walking out. “How is your little one doing?”

Lena snuck a peek at Lo curled up in the cape, dark hair splayed all over the place. “Out for the night. Thank you again for letting us stay here.” 

“It’s no problem. I will be around if you either of you needs me.” J’onn left them to themselves again. 

“Back out to the real world,” Kara hummed, leaning down to rest her chin on Lena’s shoulder as they started for the door. “I have no idea how you’re not dead tired yet. I’m an alien and I could go to sleep right now.”

“Lots of practice.” Lena let her head fall on top of Kara’s. “It will catch up to me eventually.”

“Have you had dinner at all?” Kara’s mind immediately went to food. She had already eaten and was unsurprisingly hungry again. “If you’re going to keep going I really think you should eat something.”

Lena’s stomach gave a small lurch. “I don’t think I can. I’m not like you, I can never eat when I’m stressed.”

“You know I can get you absolutely anything you want, from anywhere in the world. There’s nothing you think you could stomach?”

Thinking for a moment, Lena tilted her head up so she could look Kara in the eyes. “There is this little place in Galway called McCambridge’s, they have the best vegetable soup…”

“Done.” Kara moved to get up. “Depending on how long they take to get it for me, I should be gone thirty minutes tops.” 

“You’re not serious.”

“I am so serious.” Kara started for the balcony. 

“Where are you going?” Winn asked, looking up from the tablet Vasquez had been showing him. 

Kara ripped open the top buttons on her shirt. “Ireland.” A blast of wind fluttered around the DEO as she disappeared. 

/////

Kara touched down on the DEO balcony, finding Winn and Lena huddled in front of multiple screens. “Bad news Lena, I did not account for the time difference. Apparently, they do not serve soup at five in the morning. I got you pho instead.” She pulled out a container of soup. “I also just did another scan of the city, if Lillian is still within the limits, she’s laying low.”

“Prison is a dead end too. No one’s visited Lex in weeks and I checked the transcripts of previous visits, nothing out of the ordinary,” Alex said, having just come back herself. 

“Not a complete dead end.” Lena looked up from the monitor. “I got into the files remotely…”

“You mean you hacked into the prison files,” Winn interrupted. 

“I may have, infiltrated their terrible cybersecurity system, but that doesn’t really matter. And I wasn’t the first person to get in either. There’s evidence of tons of data being deleted.” Lena turned the screen for Winn to see. 

Winn pushed off, letting his chair roll him closer. “That is some sloppy, this person did not know how to cover their tracks. I think I can…”

“Rewrite the code to recover the lost info,” Lena finished for him. 

“Easy peasy.” Winn held up a hand for a high-five. “Please don’t leave me hanging Luthor.”

“Wait.” Lena held her own finger up. “You should save whatever algorithm you find that was used to get into the prison system and compare it to the one used to get into my building’s security. I want to know if they were done by the same person or if we’re dealing with more.” 

“Will do, just, come on.” Winn brought his hand closer, Lena reluctantly giving it a small slap. 

“You know, it would have been nice to know that you two were planning on hacking into the prison system before I went all the way down there for zero information,” Alex griped, falling into one of the open chairs. 

“I don’t make a habit of hacking,” Lena said, not looking up from her screen, fingers typing quickly.

Winn stopped typing briefly, looking over at Lena’s work. “Yeah, you look so inexperienced.”

Still holding the container of pho, Kara moved to plunk it down near Lena’s keyboard. “You. Eat.”

Lena barely looked up. “Kay.”

Not taking that as an answer, Kara stuck her face in front of Lena’s, blocking her work. “Eat, please.”

Giving Kara a quick peck on the lips, Lena proceeded to shove her head out of the way, typing continuing. “I said okay.”

Kara’s face was struck with a look of offense, before turning away with an exaggerated huff. “Alex, come on, I don’t think we’re wanted here.”

Alex stood back up, hooking her arm through Kara’s. “Come to the lab with me Krypton brain. I’m trying to figure out how to make a compound we can hit villains with so we’re able to chemically track them if they get away.”

Lena’s fingers slowed, her eyes coming up to watch the sisters walk away. She had been begging Kara to pick her brain about Kryptonian science since she found out about the Supergirl secret. They hadn’t found the time yet and though she wasn’t going to leave Winn with all the work, she really wanted to. She liked computer science just fine, but lab science couldn’t be beat. She stopped completely, uncapping her pho. No matter how fast she and Winn finished up, there was no way Kara was going to let her into the lab if she hadn’t eaten. 

/////

“Seeing you and Lena together today has been interesting,” Alex said as she and Kara stepped into the elevator. 

“Interesting how? As a couple? Because you’ve seen us at game night...”

“Shush and let me finish.” Alex squeezed the arm she had been holding. “I just wanted to say it’s been really sweet watching the two of you today. Especially the two of you with Lorraine.”

“Thanks. It’s still a tiny bit weird though,” Kara admitted. “Sometimes I feel like I’m nannying again, like back in college. Except I’m hooking up with the hot mom, which is different.”

“You’re dating the hot mom.”

“Yeah.”

The elevator came to a stop, the doors opening up to the lab floor, Alex leading the two of them out. “I wanted to tell you that it’s nice seeing you so happy. The three of you together, it just suits you.” She grabbed her lab coat. “You know that book about how there are five love languages?”

Kara reached up, starting to pull her hair into a bun. “Yeah, words of affirmation, quality time, gifts, acts of service, and touch. You’re definitely an acts of service type, maybe touch.” 

“I think there’s a sixth one. It’s yours, and it’s food.” 

Kara opened her mouth to protest, quickly shutting it when she realized she wasn’t really wrong. “That’s a kind of act of service,” she tried.

Alex nodded. “Sure.”

“Why are you trying to figure out my love language?”

Alex was quiet for a moment, slipping on a pair of safety goggles. “Do you love Lena?” 

“Of course I do, she’s my best friend.”

“Are you in love with her?”

Kara responded with a small nod. 

“Do you guys say it to each other?” Alex pressed. “I know this seems weird but I started noticing both of you will say things like ‘I care about you _so_ much,’ or whatever but you always side step around saying ‘I love you’. You never hesitated before you started dating.”

“We haven’t said it,” Kara admitted. “It seems stupid but it carries so much more weight now, I don’t know, I always want to say it, I just want it to be at the right time.”

“Let me give some sisterly advice, if you feel it, say it.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lorraine is a little shit and our resident dumb-dumbs are maybe, probably, definitely in love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would love to say I'm on a roll or something but the reality is that this chapter has been roughly written for months and all I did was fluff it up and make sure it connected with previous chapters. The OG was a little more angst-riddled and it ended up getting a bit more fluffy because it's the holiday season and I want everything to be merry and bright, sue me. (HAPPY HANUKKAH BY THE WAY.)
> 
> As always, comments, reviews, and incoherent key smashes are welcome and encouraged!

Lena’s day could not get busier. She let her head fall into her hands for just a second as she heard the door click behind Jess. Between damage control after the shooting, trying to make any sort of progress on new tech for the company, helping at the DEO, and making time to be a parent and at the very least, a semi-decent girlfriend, Lena barely had time to breathe. She knew Kara understood, the woman had been putting in extra hours in the DEO besides her regular superhero-ing while staying up to date on her Catco duties as well. They made sure to keep up with their lunch dates, it ensured that they would at least see each other once a day. Kara had also gotten in the habit of flying past Lena’s window during her midnight sweeps of the city, more often than not finding the CEO still on her laptop. It turned into extra alone time for them, usually spent with Kara dragging Lena to bed and actual sleeping only happening a solid 50% of the time.

Lorraine was a completely different story. Precocious as she was, she didn’t fully grasp the meaning behind the work Lena was doing. All she knew was that work meant her mom wasn’t at home. Lena knew this would happen eventually. She knew Lo liked spending time with Gen but it couldn’t replace their time together. Lo’s solution was to just not sleep, capitalizing on the time Lena _was_ home. She had started waking up randomly between 1-3 am, wandering into Lena’s room and refusing to go back into her own. It became a decision between giving in and letting Lo fall back asleep with her, (Lo absolutely loving when she’d find Kara sleeping over too,) or taking on the task of getting her to sleep in her own room. Either way, neither Luthor girl was getting a proper amount of sleep.

It had come to a head the night before, Lena returning home past Lo’s bedtime only to find her still up with Gen. Lo had badgered her with questions about why she had been gone so long and pleaded for her to stay home the next day. Any other time, Lena probably would have agreed, but it was board meeting day, a soul-sucking event but mandatory nonetheless. This, of course, caused a whole round of tears and a very indignant, “I hate your stupid office Mama.”

It bothered Lena that her job had become a negative thing in Lorraine’s eyes. She worked because she loved it and wanted to use her talents to help others, not as a way to escape her daughter. But the majority of Lo’s school friends had stay-at-home moms. She knew it was what kids preferred, who wouldn’t want their parent around to be the room parent that came in to help with art projects or to take them out for post-school ice cream treats? Lena would have loved a stay-at-home parent while she was growing up. Hell, she would have just preferred actual loving parents. It was always her goal to make sure Lorraine had a better childhood than she had. She worked a lot but she also left time to just be a mom, she wanted her daughter to be proud of her work and strive to make a name for herself too. But, it was times like these when she felt like she was messing up, that she was doing it all wrong. 

Her mind had wandered and Jess’s voice from the comm snapped her back to reality. “Lena, your nanny is on line one.” 

It was only 10:30 and Gen didn’t get Lo until 11. Lena picked up the call immediately. “Gen, is everything alright?”

“Lena I’m so sorry, I just got a call that my mom is in the hospital and I know you usually need a little more warning before I ask for time off but-”

Lena cut her off, relieved that it had nothing to do with Lo but still a bit worried about the overall situation. “Genevieve, breathe. Is your mother alright?”

“She had a heart attack, I…” Gen trailed off with a shuddering sigh, like she was trying to hold back tears. “My dad said everything is okay but I just want to see her. I was going to try and grab the next flight out but I can stay if you need me.”

“Of course you can go Gen, it’s a family emergency. Get that flight. I can make arrangements for Lo.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.” There was no way Lena was going to say anything else to Gen despite not knowing who the hell was going to get Lo in a half hour. 

“Lena, thank you so much.”

“You know it’s no problem. Keep me updated and send my best to your family. And let me know if you’ll need more time off, I don’t want you feeling like you need to rush back.” After ending the call, Lena’s head fell back into her hands. Things like this couldn’t be blamed on anyone, especially not Gen, but the timing could not be any worse. She pressed her comm up to the front desk. “Jess!”

Moments later, Jess was back in front of her. “What did your nanny need?”

“She had an emergency and can’t get Lo. What does my schedule look like for the rest of the day?”

“You’re speaking at an HR self-defense seminar after lunch, the investors want the budget for the month drawn up by three, and the meeting with the board is in literally five minutes.”

“Fuck.”

“Lena, what do you need me to do?”

Feeling her face heat up, Lena took a deep breath before she could get completely overwhelmed. Then it hit her. Kara. Why hadn’t she thought of that right away? God, being stressed made her stupid. “Can you please call Kara and ask her to get Lo from school?” she asked. “Tell her I will explain everything as soon as I can and that I can get someone else to take her if she only has her lunch hour off.” The initial panic that had risen in her chest was dissipating slowly. “Oh and Jess?” she put an arm out to stop her assistant from walking out. 

“I just sent you the board meeting itinerary and have a printed out copy on my desk,” Jess reassured, knowing where the conversation was going. 

“And…”

“And I’ll call Lorraine’s school so they know Kara is coming instead of Gen or you.”

Letting out the breath she didn’t know she was holding, Lena let go of Jess’s arm. “I’d be lost without you Jessica.”

Jess smiled. “Oh I know.”

/////

After receiving a call from Jess and a mess of text messages from Lena, Kara was able to take off the rest of her day and flew over to Lorraine’s school. Making sure she didn’t look windswept, Kara fiddled with her glasses as she pushed open the doors. 

Lorraine sat in a line with the rest of her class in the front lobby, little brow furrowed and arms crossed. Catching Kara’s eye, her expression morphed into a huge grin. “Kara!”

“Nugget!” Kara gave a small nod to the teacher before Lorraine smashed into her legs. She swung the little girl onto her hip. “How was your day?”

“I was at school!”

“I know, we’re still there!”

“Why didn’t Gen come get me?” Lo asked, changing the subject as Kara walked them both outside. 

“She needed to go to Metropolis to see her mom,” Kara said, giving a Lo-safe version of what Lena had told her. “And your Mama is having a crazy day at work so she asked if I could come hang out with you. Of course I said yes right away, I’ve always wanted to see where you escape every morning.”

This earned a giggle. “It’s my school, it’s where I learn all the things that make me smart.” Lorraine’s face turned quizzical when Kara surpassed the parking lot. “Where’s your car?”

“I didn’t drive, we’re walking home, it’s so nice out. Can I let you down?”

“Carry me please.” Lo wrapped her arms around Kara’s neck, laying her head down on her shoulder. “My legs are broken.”

“Nice try pal, your legs may be a bit on the small side but I seem to recall they work just fine.” Kara lowered Lo to her feet, taking her hand instead.

“Okay but you gotta carry my backpack, it is super heavy,”

The backpack was mostly empty, Kara slinging it over her shoulder anyway. The walk back to Lena’s building was just over a half-mile and she prodded Lo with questions as they walked, getting to hear about the book they read in class, how she is the top reader and got a short performance of one of the songs they had done that day. And of course she got to hear about Finn, a boy in her class that she has a small crush on. Lena had told her that Lo previously claimed they were getting married when they were old enough, (at least when they were twelve, according to Lo.)

Lo took off as soon as they entered the lobby, heading straight for the fish tanks. “I have to say hi to my fish friends!” Kara was close behind, watching as Lo squished her face against the glass of the aquarium. Lo tapped her fingers on the side lightly. “Hey buddies.”

“Do you have a favorite?”

Spinning around, Lo shook her head. “I love them all, see.” She tugged Kara’s leg to move her forward. “This one is Dustpan, and the teeny one is Paul, and the yellow one is Taylor Swift, and that big, ole mean one is um, Baked Spiky Dad.” Lo pointed out each fish carefully, jury still out on if those were consistent names or ones she had come up with on the spot. “Mama likes the blue one, she named her Princess Leia.”

Kara adjusted her glasses, feigning like they were actually helping her to see better. “Wow, they’re all pretty cool.”

“Yeah.” Lo pressed her face to the glass again, crossing her eyes and making silly faces for a few more moments before turning back to Kara. “Can I do the iPad?”

“If you’re all done with the fish, sure.” In the bombardment of texts from Lena, Kara had received a list of lunch options, and the okay to let Lo have twenty minutes with the tablet. She had also sent the squirt gun emoji and the declaration that board meetings made her want to die. Lena put on a badass, CEO front for most, but she texted Kara like a middle schooler, something that never failed to make her smile. 

“I’m all done.” Lo took off for the elevators, yelling a greeting to the man and woman at the front desk, (Jeremy, who Kara was becoming pretty familiar with, and a Patricia.)

Kara managed a quick wave to them as well before chasing Lo down, the little girl giggling as she tried to shut the elevator door before Kara caught up. 

They were back in the apartment for all of fifteen minutes before Lo decided she was hungry. She sat at the counter, iPad in front of her, sippy cup of almond milk in hand. 

“What are you hungry for?” Kara stood up, taking her eyes away from the mindless princess dress up game on the screen. “You can do peanut butter toast with banana, there’s an avocado…”

“I want turkey avocado rolls!”

Kara sighed. She was really hoping for the peanut butter toast because it was the easiest. It had the least, ‘Lorraine instructions’, all it needed were the crusts cut off. For all she knew, she could do the roll completely wrong and Lo would refuse to eat. She had seen it happen when Lena had accidentally cut a sandwich into rectangles instead of triangles. “Do you mind helping me then? I don’t want to mess up your lunch.”

“Timer didn’t go off.” Lorraine pointed towards the microwave, eyes still glued to her screen. 

There was still seven minutes left on the clock so Kara just took out the ingredients, grabbing the organic turkey, tortillas, and a tub of hummus from the fridge. She got out a cutting board as well, halving an avocado and taking the pit out. Waiting patiently until the timer beeped, she went over and shut it off. “You ready now, Lo?”

Lorraine closed the iPad moving it to the side, her face immediately changing at the sight of what Kara had out so far. “Noooooo.”

“What?”

The four-year-old was in instant tears. “That’s not mine, I can’t have that, it’s Mama’s!”

“What’s wrong?” Kara was lost. 

Arms folded and legs kicking at the stools support beam, Lorraine let out a pathetic whine. “It’s not the right one.” She broke off into another round of cries. “I don’t like that one!”

“The turkey?”

“No!”

“The hummus?” Kara pointed at the tub.

“That’s Mama’s. Hers is red. Mine is y-yellow!” Lorraine hiccupped through a sob, fat, crocodile tears streaming down her face. 

Yellow hummus? Kara pulled open the refrigerator, finally spotting the lemon hummus behind a container of cut up celery. She had originally taken out the roasted red pepper hummus, which she now knew was Lena’s. “This one Lo?” she asked, holding it up.

“Uh, uh-huh.” The sudden tantrum came to a halt, slowing into sniffles. “That’s my hummus.”

Kara shook her head as she returned the ‘red’ hummus to the fridge. “All you had to do was tell me dude. What was with all the tears?”

Lo’s brow was furrowed, face splotchy from her outburst. “You took the wrong one Kara.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know,” Kara apologized, trying to take the situation semi-seriously for Lo’s sake. “Why don’t you get a plate out and we can make your roll-ups? You can be my sous chef.”

Lorraine climbed down from her stool, going to get one of her plastic plates from the cupboard. “What’s a zoo chef?” And just like that, the tantrum was a thing of the past.

“It means you’re my little helper,” Kara said, not bothering to correct her. She picked Lo up, setting her on the counter. “I’ll cut up the avocado and you can put some hummus on the tortilla.” She passed over the package of tortillas. 

Working together, lunch was made quickly and Lo was back in her seat eating happily soon enough. Lena always kept the fridge stocked with freshly cut up fruits and vegetables so Kara set out some orange peppers and raspberries as well. The kid ate healthier than she ever had in her entire life. Lena claimed since Lo’s dairy allergy prevented her from eating regular kid food like mac and cheese, grilled cheese, pizza, ice cream, etc., that it was out of necessity rather than her being a health nut mom. But hot dogs didn’t have dairy. And neither did chicken nuggets. 

“I want more milk.” Lorraine interrupted Kara’s thoughts, holding her cup out in her direction. 

“What’s the magic word Miss Lo?” Kara asked, holding out a hand for the cup. “P-p…” she prompted. 

“P’ease?” Lorraine tried through a mouth of food. 

Kara smirked taking the cup. “The magic word was actually peanut butter, but please works too, I guess.” She refilled the cup with almond milk, screwing the cap on tight before setting it back down. 

Lorraine stuck the mouthpiece back in. “Can I have a treat?” she asked, voice garbled.

There were still two rollups and a few untouched peppers on her plate. “What about the rest of your food?” Kara pointed down. 

Pushing all of it around, Lo thought for a minute. “My tummy’s full.”

“How full?”

“Like up to here!” Lorraine stuck a hand up over her head. “It’s so full.”

“If it’s up to there than there can’t be any room left for a treat.” Lo had definitely learned that between Lena and Kara, Kara was the known pushover, especially when it came to sugar. 

“My tummy is so full,” she insisted again.

“That’s fine Lo, no treat then. You can take your plate over to the sink if you’re all done.”

All of a sudden, the tears were back. “I want a treat!”

Kara was not prepared for this. She knew Lo wasn’t a perfect kid, she was four and meltdowns weren’t uncommon. She just wasn’t used to witnessing or causing so many. Lena was Supermom and could always stop them in their tracks, reasoning with Lo like some kind of master hostage negotiator. Kara was Supergirl, she could save the world, she could take on Daxamites, Hellgrammites, Infernians, and Coluans. But a sleep-deprived, four-year-old human, she may have met her match. “Lo…” she started. 

“I just want a chocolate.” Lorraine flipped her plate upside down, placing so it covered her unfinished food. “No peppers.”

It was more of a standoff than anything else. All Kara could do was explain what needed to be done and wait for Lorraine to decide. After repeating herself twice and some a few more whiny attempts from Lo, the little girl gave in. Bargaining only two of the pepper slices and one roll in exchange for a treat, Lorraine ate what she needed to, cleared her plate and went to the couch to await her chocolate. Kara counted it as a victory for herself, giving Lo the candy and flopping down next to her to watch her pre-nap show. 

After a riveting episode of Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Kara prepared herself for nap time. Much like bedtime, Lo wanted pajamas, to brush her teeth, a story and four songs, (“because _I’m_ four, Kara.”) It was something that seemed simpler than it really was. Kara had waited around while Lena spent nearly a half hour getting her down. Aside from Lo wanting to rename every character in the book, ‘Booty Head’, Kara was confident in getting through it all without a hitch. 

She got too confident. 

“Kara you didn’t sing four songs.”

“Yes I did,” Kara said as she pulled the blanket up to Lo’s chin. “I did Twinkle Twinkle, Let It Go, Jingle Bells, and you sang me your Days of the Week song from school. That’s four.”

“But I want one more…” Lo’s bottom lip was quivering. 

“Sorry nugget,” Kara tried. “How about a hug?” Lorraine obliged, wrapping an arm around Kara’s neck and planting a sticky kiss on her cheek. 

“I need my noise machine!” 

Stopping on her way out the door, Kara turned around to turn the white noise on. “Go to sleep Lo.” She was halfway back to the couch when she heard her again. 

“Kara, tuck me in please!”

Going back in the room, she saw Lo had kicked the blankets down. Sighing, she pulled them up again. 

“And one more hug and a kiss.”

Kara gave her a quick squeeze and planted a kiss on her forehead. “Sweet dreams nugget. It’s time to sleep, for real this time.” She actually made it all the way to the couch, pulling her phone out. She had texted Lena during lunch, giving her a quick update about the hummus debacle and had finally gotten a response. 

**Lena:** _I wish I was kidding when I said my kid was super particular, sorry she’s cranky for you!_

 **Kara:** _It’s no big deal, just wanted to keep you updated. I just put her down for her nap_

 **Lena:** _Good she needs one_

 **Lena:** _I need one_

 **Lena:** _I think I should start allowing office naps. That’s a thing, right? Helps overall productivity_

 **Kara:** _¯\\_(ツ)_/¯_

 **Lena:** _I have to gooooooooo_

 **Lena:** _I’m going to try to get home before dinner_

 **Lena:** _Pray 4 me_

Lena’s messages stopped and Kara tossed her phone off to the side. She could hear Lo moving around in her bed and when the movement stopped, she spotted her coming out of her room. Eyes shining with tears again, she was clutching her Lovie. “Can you sing me a song?” she asked, voice cracking pathetically. 

Kara’s response of simply leading her back to her room and tucking her in was not well received. The whiny cries became full-on sobs. Broken, “Sing me a song!” screeches repeated between the wails. Lo stayed in the hall by her room, sitting on the floor and leaning against the door as she cried. The first few minutes edged on humorous, Kara took a snapchat video, sending it to Lena. But as it kept going, it started to affect her. Ten minutes in and Lo was still crying and Kara was beginning to break. She didn’t know how Lena did this. 

/////

Lena somehow managed to get out of the office at a reasonable time. She had skipped lunch and Jess had been an absolute godsend, helping her get things done. From the texts and snaps from Kara, she knew the day hadn’t been easy for her either. She knew Kara was fine and could handle it, but she also knew that Lo was having a bad week and she was to blame. Well, at least she blamed herself. It was a quarter after five when she unlocked the door to an oddly quiet apartment. 

With the main area, kitchen and living room empty, Lena ventured towards Lo’s room, heels clicking on the hardwood floor. The bedroom door was wide open and the lights were still on. A breathy, “Awww,” escaped her lips before she could stop it. Kara was sprawled out in Lo’s bed, fast asleep with the little girl passed out in her arms. If it was possible for someone’s heart to burst from overwhelming love and cuteness, Lena would be a goner. 

Kara stirred at the small noise, her eyes cracking open behind her glasses. “Lena…” Moving slowly as to not disturb Lo, she untangled herself and stood up, meeting Lena’s lips for a quick kiss. “How late is it?”

Lena stole a peek at her watch. “5:18.”

“I was scared it was a lot later.” Kara reached under her glasses to rub at an eye. “She didn’t crash until maybe,” she was cut off by a yawn. “3:45 ish. I wasn’t planning on napping too but she was crying so much and she was fine if I was in here.”

“It’s okay, she has a tendency to tire people out.”

“Have you heard anything from Gen?”

Lena nodded. “She called me on my way home, her mom is on the mend. Have I thanked you enough for stepping in today yet?”

“Hmm… I don’t know, those twelve texts in a row were okay, but I could do for a little more.” Kara kept her voice low, still a bit raspy from sleep. 

Stepping close, a few inches from her face, Lena bit down on her lower lip. “I guess I’ll have to think of some way to make it up to you.”

“Mama!” Lorraine interrupted before the interaction went any further. Kicking off the blankets quickly, Lorraine launched herself into her mother’s arms. 

Lena had spun around at the sound of her voice and had thankfully prepared for the impact of her small body. “Hey sweet girl! Did you have a good nap?”

“Uh-huh.” Lorraine nodded before burying her face in Lena’s shoulder. 

“I heard you were giving Kara a bit of a hard time today.”

Lorraine looked guilty as she peeked up at Kara, hiding her face again quickly. “Mama…” she whined. 

“Hey, I want eyeballs please.” Lena waited for Lo to make reluctant eye contact. “I know it’s been a tough week. I’ve been working more than usual, you haven’t been sleeping the best. It’s okay for you to be upset. We just need to figure out better ways to solve problems than screaming and crying, yes?”

Nodding her head, Lo glanced over at Kara again. “Sorry I was bad Kara.”

“Bad? Maybe having a bad day, but you’re never bad! I do appreciate the apology though nugget.” Kara took one of her little hands, peppering it with kisses. 

Lena let Lorraine down to her feet. “I don’t know about you two, but I’m starving. Lo, are you wearing PJs the rest of the night or are you changing?”

Already half out of her pajamas, school dress in hand, Lo let out a giggle. “I’m changing.”

“Don’t trip and break your face,” Kara warned as Lo seemed to tangle herself in every article of clothing. 

Lena resisted the urge to step in and dress Lorraine, letting her figure it out for herself. “How do you feel about chicken nuggets?”

“Yes!”

Kara looked at her incredulously, eyebrows raised and mouth agape. “Chicken nuggets?”

“Don’t get too excited darling, they’re gluten-free and all natural.”

“They’re Star Wars!” Lo jumped in, finally dressed, grabbing onto her mom’s and Kara’s hand as they walked to the kitchen. “There’s BB-8 and R2! No Rey though. And sometimes we get dino ones or Frozen. And Winnie the Pooh. I like those ones because they have honey but I don’t really like Pooh. He’s a booty head.”

“Ah yes, we’ll add him to the ever-growing list of booty heads,” Kara said. 

“I’d really like to personally thank whoever at school that taught you that,” Lena joked.

“Finn, he’s my boyfriend,” Lo responded, too young to pick up on her mom’s obvious sarcasm. 

Lena tried not to let her eyes roll. That damn Finn.

/////

Midway through dinner, Kara was called out for a Supergirl emergency, leaving the rest of the night for Lena to enjoy with Lo. It worked out nicely, giving them alone time to spend together. Kara being around a lot had changed the mother-daughter dynamic slightly, not in a bad way, but it was still different. Lena had gotten so used to their little twosome, and Lo had clearly been missing it too. 

They had washed dishes together, colored, and Lena had actually been able to address Lo’s distaste for her work. While she still wasn’t fond of Lena leaving, she had actively listened to her explanation of what she did at the office, even asking a few questions of her own. They had read multiple books before bed, the two switching off reading each page. Lo had been reading for a while but it never failed to endear Lena, watching her little fingers follow the words and her exaggerated sounding out of the things she didn’t know. 

With Lo asleep and the apartment quiet, Lena settled down on the couch. Part of her wanted to collapse in bed but her workaholic side powered through and she ended up pulling out her laptop, going over tomorrow’s schedule and reviewing the notes on the new project Research and Development had sent her. Seemingly burying herself in her work, she didn’t hear the soft thud of her girlfriend landing on the balcony outside the living room. 

/////

Kara’s hand hesitated over the handle of the balcony door. The apartment was dark except for the lone lamp next to the couch. Lena was out of her office clothes, comfortable in joggers and an MIT crewneck, thick-framed glasses slipping down her nose. She looked, troubled, for lack of a better word. Kara knew Lena had been stretching herself thin lately. Her work schedule was insane and juggling that along with Lorraine wasn’t an easy task. With the bags under her eyes that makeup couldn’t quite cover up and the restless sleep Kara knew she had been getting, it wasn’t hard to see out how exhausted she was. The emergency Kara had left earlier for, could have been handled by the police. Maggie had even told her she didn’t have to come if she didn’t want to. She had gone anyways, hoping Lena would take the night to relax. In coming back, she simply wanted to check up, but seeing blueprints and reports pulled up on the laptop, she felt the need to intervene. Deciding on not totally barging in, Kara gave a light tap on the glass. 

Pushing her glasses back up, Lena turned at the noise and got up to open the door. “Was it locked?” she asked as she slid the door open. 

“Nope, just actually felt like knocking this time.”

Lena gave Kara a peck on the lips before moving out of the way to let her in. “When have you ever knocked?” She chuckled, plopping back down on the couch.

“You looked so peaceful and in the zone, I don’t know…”

“Alien crisis averted?” Lena reached to grab a mug off of the coffee table, taking a sip.

“No aliens, just a break in at that new building site across town. Is that coffee.” A sheepish glance over the mug answered Kara’s question. “Lena, you’re not going to be able to sleep tonight.”

“It’s not like I sleep much anyways,” Lena countered, taking another drink. 

“How’s Lo?”

“Passed out. I think she needed a night with just me, I think I needed it too.”

Kara chewed on the inside of her cheek, rethinking her decision to come in. “You know I’ll never be offended if you guys need alone time. You don’t have to wait for a Supergirl emergency to get me to leave.”

“That’s not it!” Lena realized quickly what Kara thought she had meant. “It would have been completely fine if you were here too, she just, it just seems like, god I don’t know.” She paused for a moment. “Attention, she just wanted a little attention. That’s on my crazy schedule, not you being around. Are you going to sit down?”

“I didn’t know I was staying…”

Lena shut her laptop and placed it on the table along with her glasses. “Please stay.”

Kara softened. “Let me change out of this,” she gestured down to her super suit, “I’ll be right back.” True to her word, Kara blew out of the room and came back moments later dressed in borrowed clothes. 

Lena shifted, lifting up Kara’s arm as she sat down so she could burrow into her side. “I’m sorry.”

“What are you apologizing for?”

“I don’t know, I just feel shitty.”

Kara pressed a kiss to the top of Lena’s head. “Do you need me to tell you that Lo having a rough day isn’t your fault?”

“Rough week,” Lena corrected. “I feel like a bad mom, a bad girlfriend, and I spend all my time bitching about work…” she trailed off. “I was thinking about it earlier, I don’t even know what you’ve been doing at Catco lately, I haven’t asked.”

“Nothing too interesting, I challenged James to give me an assignment unrelated to Supergirl, because I don’t want to build my career writing about myself,” Kara started.

“Isn’t that what the great Clark Kent did?”

Kara let out a laugh. “He’s written other pieces,” she paused, “I think. That’s not the point, so most stories for the week were already assigned so James tasked me with finding the top 10 donuts in National City. I pretty much just get to eat donuts and rate them, top-notch journalism.” 

“Do you want to trade jobs?”

“I can bring all the goods in and you can try them with me at lunch tomorrow,” Kara said.

“Please.”

“Oh, and I forgot to tell you I borrowed one of your blazers the other day in an attempt to not look like I was wearing the same outfit two days in a row…”

Lena interrupted. “You literally have super speed, why was it not an option to speed back to your place and change?”

“Okay, I just wanted to wear something of yours. _Anyways_. I kept getting compliments so I made Eve look up where it was from so I could possibly get one of my own.” Kara stopped to take a breath. “And I was curious as to why you find the need to wear $5000 clothing.”

“Was it the Armani or the Tom Ford?” Lena asked, unphased. “I can get it for you if you want.”

“No.”

“I don’t know what the fun of being a billionaire is if you won’t let me buy things for you.”

“If you’re going to spend money on me I’d rather it be on something useful, like unlimited pizza.”

“Not gonna happen,” Lena deadpanned.

Kara brought her legs up, tucking them beneath her. “Do you still feel shitty now?”

“I feel like a better girlfriend,” Lena mused, “still feel like a bad mom.”

“I can go wake up Lo and ask her if that’s the case if you need me to,” Kara said seriously.

“Please don’t.” Lena honestly couldn’t tell if she would actually do it, her tone unwavering yet no effort was made to stand up. She assumed Kara was smart enough to not wake the child that was hopefully getting her first good night’s sleep of the week.

“What’s still bothering you about her then?” Kara pressed. “I thought you just had a nice night with her.” 

“I did.” Lena looked down at the couch cushion, pulling at a loose thread. “I’ve been going back and forth about whether or not to tell the world about Lorraine and I think I’m ready. I don’t want to talk about it right now because I just want to be with you, but I want to do it. Soon. I’m sick of hiding.”

Kara tightened the arm she had around Lena. “We don’t have to talk about anything you don’t want to, but I’ll support whatever you end up deciding on.”

“Thanks Kar.”

Conversation continued to flow easily between them, Lena sharing the most hilarious of the asinine things said during the board meeting, Kara remembering and showing a video of a bird’s evil laugh. HGTV was turned on as background noise at some point and by midnight they had both accepted the fact that Kara would be spending the night again, going back to Lena’s room to brush teeth and wash off any traces of makeup left over from the day. 

Under the covers, Lena settled back, arms behind her head. “What would you think if I just quit everything? I could sell L-Corp for more money than I’d know what to do with and I move out to a farm in the middle of nowhere, somewhere the Luthor name means nothing. I’d get like six dogs and maybe a chicken and Lo could just be a normal kid.”

Kara crawled in on her side, turning the last light on to its dimmest setting. “Do I get to be included in your farmhouse fantasy?”

“Yeah, you get to throw hay bales around wearing a pair of overalls, no shirt underneath so your muscles are always on display.”

Kara laughed. “You’re so weird.” She snuggled closer, moving Lena’s arm so she could reach up and kiss her.

Lena sat back after a moment, staring at the blue eyes in front of her. Her mood compared to the morning was a drastic change. She had started the day so stressed out and had let herself wallow in self-pity as things continued to be anything but easy. She hated that she let herself do that, it only served in making her apathetic. It was something that Lillian had always nagged her about as well. ‘Quit feeling sorry for yourself’ was a biting remark often made in the Luthor household growing up. But Kara was able to drag her out of it. She was there to validate her feelings, there to stop her from repressing, a light when she shrouded herself in darkness. It wasn’t as if Kara didn’t have her own demons or troubling past to weigh her down, but she worked through it with an optimism Lena hadn’t known until she met her. Instead of spending her nights lonely and full of worry, she now had this life she never dreamed she could have. Dropping her head onto Kara’s shoulder, she murmured the words she had been meaning to say for a while now. 

“I love you, Kara Danvers.” 

“What?” Kara was almost taken aback, not expecting the declaration from Lena. She had been biding her time trying to figure out when to say it herself ever since the conversation with Alex and Lena had beat her to it. 

“I love you,” Lena repeated, unable to keep the smirk off her face, almost yelping as Kara’s lips suddenly crashed back into hers.

“I was going to be the one to say it first,” Kara whined, lips staying close enough to brush against Lena’s cheek. “I had it all planned out.”

“My competitive Luthor genes just shined through.”

“Well, I love you too you giant nerd.” Kara closed the gap between them again.

“We need to be quiet,” Lena managed to get out, inhaling sharply as Kara began trailing kisses down the nape of her neck, crawling over onto her lap.

“I can be quiet,” Kara whispered, breath hot on Lena’s skin. 

That was all the permission Lena needed, tangling her fingers Kara’s hair and pulling her in, her other hand tugging at sweatpants just put on.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's getting revealed to the world in this chapter? (Spoiler: It's Lorraine.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has gone through more potential storylines and rewrites than any of the previous ones SO SORRY IT TOOK ME A HOT SEC. 
> 
> I wanted to put out an extra long chapter but since Supergirl came back today, I thought, why not put out what I have so far?
> 
> Enjoy and hit me up with a review at the end, that shit keeps me going.

“Are you sure I should wear my hair down?” Lena stood in front of her bathroom mirror, a nervous thumbnail between her teeth. 

Kara was on the floor, back against the glass of the shower. “Honey, you just spent over a half hour curling it.”

“So..?”

“Keep it down, it looks great, you look great.”

Lena rested her elbows on the vanity with a groan, unconvinced. “Lo, are you ready?!” she yelled.

The sound of little feet echoed in the hall and Lo appeared in the doorway. She was mostly put together, a self-made combo of a cranberry colored dress, mustard yellow knee-highs, and black combat boots. “I want Kara to do my hair.” The stick of a Dum-Dum sucker hung from her mouth, a coating of Red #40 sticky around her lips. 

“Lorraine Charlotte, where did you get that?”

Lo pulled the candy out with a small pop. “You said I could have a snack.”

“I meant a few pretzels or an applesauce pouch, are you kidding me?” Lena raked a hand through her hair. “It's 8:30 in the morning, why would you think candy would be an appropriate snack?”

Lo dug a toe into the frame of the door, eyes avoiding Lena. “I just wanted it.”

Still on the floor, Kara stayed quiet. It had been a long morning already, the coffee machine crapping out on them and Lo spilling syrup all over herself, getting some in her hair. She still smelled like a waffle and had half a head of damp hair, but the successful dressing with no adult intervention was a slight positive. 

Head dropping into one hand, Lena held the other out to Lo. “May I have it, please?” She tossed the soggy stick into the trash once Lo had given it up. “Thank you.”

“Sorry…”

Pulling herself up, Kara grabbed a washcloth off the towel rack and wet it in the sink. “Lo, let me wipe you down and we can get started on your hair.” She gave Lena’s bare shoulder a quick rub after wringing out the cloth. “That way we can get going as soon as Mama’s dressed.”

“Mama’s grumpy,” Lo said, blowing past Lena to take a seat on the closed toilet lid. 

“I am,” Lena admitted. She knelt down beside the toilet with a sigh. “We’re revealing you to the world today sweets, I’m a little nervous and it’s putting me in a bad mood. I shouldn’t have gotten snappy with you and I’m sorry for that, but you,” she gave Lo a poke on the nose, “know better than to take candy without asking.”

“I said sorry!” Lo folded her arms. 

Kara reached down to start cleaning Lo’s stained mouth. “You two are both grumpy.” This elicited a gasp from each of the Luthors, the smaller, stickier one fighting against the washcloth. “I’m almost done Lo, hold on.”

With evidence of the sucker erased, Lena was able to breathe a sigh of relief. Going back to the mirror, she fiddled with her front curls, swiping under her eyes to remove stray bits of mascara, and scraping the edges around her matte, red lips. 

“You’re going to be late for your own press conference if you don’t stop primping and go put some clothes on, Lena,” Kara said, hanging up the washcloth and reaching for a brush to start Lo’s hair.

Lo pulled a face as Kara hit a snarl almost immediately, kicking booted feet into the air. “Yeah, you can’t go nakie, Mama.”

Only camera ready from the neck up, Lena was clad in just a bra and underwear. “I have no idea what I want to wear so when the two of you are done, I’m going to need input.” She pressed a kiss to Lo’s head before walking out to her room, muttering a quiet, “God, you smell like you crawled up Mrs. Butterworth’s ass.”

It wasn’t loud enough for Lo to hear but Kara definitely did, biting down on her tongue hard to keep a straight face.

/////

Despite being more behind schedule than Lena would have preferred, they were soon in the back of the town car on their way to L-Corp. They were sans a tiny human, Genevieve coming over to be Lo’s ride, one last charade to keep the secret. 

Immaculate from head to toe, Lena sat in her seat stiffly. “I’m going to pass out.”

This was at least the third time Lena had threatened doing something along those lines since waking up and Kara resisted an eye roll. “You’re not, take a deep breath.”

Lena did as she was told, sucking in a breath and letting it out slowly. “How are you so calm?”

“I’m not,” Kara said truthfully. “But one of us has to keep it together.”

Hooking onto Kara’s arm, Lena lay her head on her shoulder. “Rude.”

“Why don’t you go over what you want to say one more time with me?” It wasn’t like Kara hadn’t heard Lena’s speech a million times over the past two weeks. The topic had been looming over them and she had watched Lena type, backspace, and retype drafts in bed at night. She had received random emails during work hours asking if introducing Lo as her invisible child was weird. (It was.) Lena had even started rambling about it during a shower. Who knew naked, soaped up Kara would make Lena want to talk about all possible repercussions of the reveal. Even with all the hesitation and the indecisiveness when it came to words, Kara knew Lena was ready to tell the world. If anything had come from the circling conversations, it was a certainty in that. “I think it starts out as, ‘Hello, I’m Lena Luthor. I’m sure you’re wondering why I’ve called this meeting…’” she prompted. 

“There is something I have wanted to share for a long time…” Lena stopped. “This feels dumb.” 

Kara prodded Lena’s side, making her squirm. “Go on.”

“I don’t remember, god, I’m probably going to projectile vomit over the first row of reporters, take a few stumbling steps and then fucking collapse a la Wendy Williams when she overheated in that Statue of Liberty costume.”

Kara snorted at the ridiculous and oddly specific premonition. “You are _not_.” She remembered the Wendy Williams story, it was the first and only time she had seen Ms. Grant, self-proclaimed queen of all media, nearly break her icy facade. One of the junior reporters at the time had suggested the topic to put on the Catco twitter and played the video for the room. The room had all laughed, (after there was assurance that Wendy was alright,) and Kara had never seen Cat fight so hard to not join in while approving the post. 

“I might,” Lena shot back. “I don’t seem to recall seeing the future as one of your powers.” As soon as the words left Lena’s mouth, she deflated. “God, sorry. I don’t know why my first inclination is to be a bitch to whoever speaks to me today.”

There was no offense taken on Kara’s side, she knew there was no malice behind Lena’s words. She took it upon herself to pull Lena closer instead. “You won’t collapse because there’s no way I’d let you fall. Super speed _is_ one of my powers you know. But I’m not worried about you, Lena Lutessa Luthor. You’re going to be great, you always are.”

Seemingly ignoring the praise, Lena launched into another gripe. “Lutessa is such a stupid middle name, it’s honestly the worst thing Lillian has done to me.”

“ _That’s_ the worst thing?”

Their conversation was interrupted as the car slowed, Lena’s driver, Katherine, clearing her throat. “We’re here, ladies.”

“Fuuuuck,” Lena groaned. 

It occurred to Kara that Lorraine riding separately had been a good idea beyond staying incognito. Lena was good at watching her language around Lo, Kara had yet to hear her slip up. But without a child around, and especially when stressed, the profanities flew. Kara reached a hand across their laps, grabbing onto Lena’s free hand and intertwining their fingers. “You can do this, I love you.”

/////

The L-Corp press room was a decent size and was quickly filling with reporters. Kara had only recently learned of its existence, Lena rarely used it, she preferred to put on huge, public press conferences, open to the public, open to any news source, and usually hosted outside. But given her track record with outdoor press conferences, location was the one thing Kara had made a fuss about when discussing the announcement. With Lo being in attendance, Lena was easy to persuade. 

After leaving Lena in the car, she was using a back entrance while Kara entered through the front with the rest of the press, she had her belongings checked by security and went through a metal detector. Alex had joked during her one experience with TSA on a family vacation to Disneyworld that it was a good thing she really wasn’t made of steel. She found James easily with his camera in tow. Kara had insisted he come as the photographer for Catco, not telling him the importance, though he hadn’t stopped asking questions since she sat down. James was with one of the video department interns, Sebastian, the only one who wasn’t a complete idiot. He was setting up a tripod, trying to find the best angle for the livestream. 

“Mr. Olsen, Miss, uh, Kara, is this okay?”

Kara never liked being called Miss Danvers, even at work. It never made her feel important like she supposed it should. She thought maybe it had to do with Danvers being her Earth identity, a name she never would know if her planet never exploded. Then there was Zor-El, which she couldn’t use for obvious reasons. And then there was plain, Kara. On Earth, on Krypton, anywhere, it was still her. She looked over to Sebastian’s chosen frame, offering him a smile. “Looks good to me, James?”

Stopping his fiddling with his camera lens, James leaned over as well. “Yeah, and you’ve got the sound on, good. You’d be surprised how many people forget that.”

Sebastian scratched behind an ear. “Thanks, and I can send a message to the social media team once we go live.”

“Perfect.” James turned his attention back to Kara. “So you’re really not going to tell me anything before Lena gets out here?”

With a shake of her head, Kara pulled her tablet out of her bag. “I don’t know why you keep asking me like my mind is going to change instead of finding a good place to set up for something that has the potential to be the most poignant photo of your career not involving a Super.” 

“Do you guys think Supergirl is going to show up?” Sebastian interrupted. 

James waved him off. “I think my photography skills would be better if I had an idea about what I was shooting.”

“You know how you told me the best photographs express what you feel about what you’re photographing?” James nodded. “Well I want you to forget about any preconceived notions you still hold about Lena because of her last name, really feel the emotion of what’s about to happen.”

“Kara…” James was still confused. 

“I can’t tell you any more, just…” Kara gave his arm a light shove. “Please get up closer. You’re going to want to get a good shot.” 

The lights started to dim and Kara’s heart thumped in her chest. She nudged her glasses up as James begrudgingly gathered his camera to go up to the front. After glancing over to make sure Sebastian had hit record, her attention snapped back to the front as the side door opened, the entire room quieting when Lena stepped out. 

Black Louboutin’s that Lo had insisted on audibly clicked as Lena walked out to the podium, Sebastian letting out a low whistle. “She looks hot.” 

Kara fought an urge to smack him upside the head with a hissing reminder that even though the camera was not facing him, it could still pick up on his voice. She settled on a pointed glare she hoped conveyed the message of, ‘shut the hell up.’ Sebastian may have been the most competent of the interns but he was still a bit of a moron. Not that Kara entirely blamed him for his reaction, her girlfriend looked _good_. Any traces of the jittery woman from the town car was gone. Lena had this natural confidence in the way that she walked, steps purposeful, head held high. It was almost as if she was exuding equal parts intimidation and warmth, she looked superior, yet approachable. Lo had taken her job as fashion consultant very seriously, sitting cross-legged on the bed and making over-exaggerated remarks as Lena tried things on. (‘Blue is so your color, Mama. You gotta wear shoes that make the clack sound. Maybe try a necklace, I got lots of them, you can have one of mine.’) Between the three of them, they had satisfied Lena’s vision of wanting to seem professional with an air of hip, young mom. It certainly helped that Lena’s closet resembled a small, high-end department store. With hands grasping either end of the podium, Lena’s eyes searched the crowd, locking in when she spotted Kara. As per tradition, Kara gave an encouraging nod and a quick thumbs up. 

Any stiffness left in Lena’s posture dissipated, a smile breaking out on her face. “Good morning everyone.”

As Lena continued through her introduction, Kara couldn’t help but to just stare. From the way Lena was standing, the strength in her voice, the curve of her red lips. She was beautiful and Kara was so, so in love. A pause followed by a switch into the reasoning behind the press conference had Kara fumbling to tap her tablet back to life, to start her note taking, she was here on business. 

“I feel like every time I’m up at a podium I’m apologizing on my family’s behalf. Whether it be Lex and his god complex or Lillian’s horrific organization, I always seem to be saying sorry. I’ve carried the weight of the Luthor name since I was a child and that has come at a cost. I was taught to be cold, calculated, to value science over everything else. That isn’t me and since coming to National City, turning Luthor Corp into L-Corp, I’ve been able to be more myself than I ever have. I am my own entity here.” Lena paused, scanning the crowd. “And to truly be myself, I need to be honest with all of you. I’ve been withholding the best part of me out of fear; fear of what my family is capable of and fear of the dangers in the world around us. But I’m done being afraid and I am most certainly done hiding.” Her eyes went to Kara’s again, locking onto the blue like a lifeline. She swallowed hard. “I am finally ready and am happy to introduce you all to my daughter.”

As if Lena’s last sentence was akin to ‘release the hounds,’ the side door creaked open again, Lorraine bursting out. It made Kara wonder how hard Gen had been working to hold her back there for as long as she had. The room seemed a bit in awe, the announcement not what they were expecting. Cameras began clicking furiously as Lo made her way over to Lena, a chuckle spreading through the audience when Lo stumbled excitedly on one of the steps. 

A finger poked Kara’s arm. It was Sebastian. “Did you know?”

This time, she did smack him, lightly of course and only on his arm. She pressed a finger to her lips, pointing at the camera responsible for the livestream. 

Lena bent down, picking Lo up hugging her tight. “This is Lorraine.” She smoothed back the stray hairs from the intricate braided hairstyle Kara had done, focusing more on Lo than the reporters. “Do you want to tell everyone how old you are?” 

Head bobbing, Lo leaned forward enough for her lips to touch the microphone. “I’m four and a half!”

A series of coos and ‘aww’s’ came in response, a response most adults made when a young kid did anything in the limelight. Lo could have given everyone the finger and elicited the same reaction. 

“I’m sure you all have a lot of questions,” Lena said, grabbing the floor again. “I am happy to answer and will try to get through as many as possible.”

Kara sat back as everyone else erupted into questions. She was only out in the audience because Lena had insisted that the reporter from Catco be her. It wasn’t as if she wouldn’t be able to find the time to ask Lena anything later so she figured she could let everyone else have their moment. Lo didn’t stay in Lena’s arms for long, wriggling down and plopping in front of the podium so she could see everyone for herself. She lit up when she spotted Kara, sending an enthusiastic wave that Kara returned with equal pizzazz. Knowing Lo, she probably would have run to go hug Kara had she not been given strict instructions not to do so that morning. The sucker that she was, Kara wouldn’t have minded one bit. 

/////

The press conference lasted longer than usual, thankfully without any of the far too usual interruptions. Lo had gotten bored within a few minutes of all the questioning, making Lena pick her up again only to loudly inquire into the microphone if she could go color and eat chocolate chips. With Jess at her side, Lena was swamped with reporters after she wrapped up speaking. Kara was able to sneak up to Lena’s office to see Lo and Gen before she had to get back to Catco herself. The afternoon was a blur of drafting, editing, and getting an earful of a phone call from Cat threatening that if she didn’t make her girlfriend do an exclusive interview with Catco, Cat was going to personally fly in from D.C. to ream her out. Somewhat impervious to the menacing yet harmless threats of Ms. Grant, (Lena was allowed to do whatever she was comfortable with in terms of interviews,) Kara let the anticipation of potstickers power her through the rest of the day. In their first public outing together, Kara and Lena had decided on taking Lorraine out to dinner. Going Chinese was Kara’s choice but it had not been hard to convince the Luthor girls to go along with it. 

Using her copy of the apartment key, Kara let herself in to find Lena sitting at the kitchen counter in sweats, glasses perched on top of her head, frustratingly typing emails. Lo lay across the dining room table, little sunglasses pushed up in her hair to match her mom, brow furrowed at a half-finished puzzle. 

“Well this doesn’t look like anyone who’s ready to go get some delicious food,” Kara said, setting her things near Lena’s laptop, enveloping her in a hug from behind and dropping a quick kiss to her cheek. 

Lena hit send, swiveling around. “What time is it?” 

“Quarter to six. How're you feeling?” Kara slid into the seat next to her. 

“Good, good, like a giant weight has been lifted off me. It’s just…”

Lo cut her off, giving up on two puzzle pieces that wouldn’t fit together. “Daddy’s coming over!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'ALL READY TO MEET JACK?


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I hear the post-orgasm glow translates beautifully on camera.”
> 
> Dinner with Jack + snippets of reveal week!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another late night/early morning update!
> 
> Hope you enjoy! Smash down a kudos if you haven't already and hit me up with a review, I love seeing what y'all have to say :)

“Daddy’s coming over!”

Lena massaged a temple. “Jack called me around noon, said he had booked a flight so he could be around in case we needed help,” she explained. “He wants to be here for Lo, in case the media gets crazy and just to see her.” Picking up her espresso cup, she made a face upon realizing it was empty. 

“That doesn’t sound bad,” Kara said, putting a hand out to stop Lena’s bouncing leg. 

“It’s not, it’s probably a good thing, I shouldn’t be complaining, I just have a headache.” Lena shut her laptop. “How was the rest of your day?”

“Busy, spent half of it convincing Snapper to let me write the online press statement about you and the other half making sure my writing was unbiased.” 

Lena stood up. “You want coffee? I was going to make more.”

“You don’t need any more caffeine Lena and I’m fine, come here.” Kara stood as well, Lena all but collapsing in her arms after she held them out. 

“How do you always know when I need a hug?” Lena murmured, face smushed in Kara’s shoulder. 

Running a hand up and down Lena’s back, Kara smiled. “I’m just always under the assumption that you want a hug.” 

“You’re not wrong.”

“I’m done!” Lo exclaimed from the table, last puzzle piece fitting into place. “Are we eating now?”

Lena pulled out of Kara’s arms with a sigh. “I’m just waiting on a text from daddy, sweetie. Oh my god, I meant to text you, Kara, you don’t care if Jack comes to dinner do you?”

“Definitely not a big deal. As long as I get to eat potstickers, I’m happy.”

“Can I-” Lo stopped, waiting until both women were focused on her, “can I wear my weird suit?” 

“Sure babe, go put it on.” Lena had fallen victim to perusing the mommy bloggers of Instagram and had come across a company that made rompers easy for young kids to put on themselves. Lost in a moment of wanting to be a trendy mom, she had shown Lo the different designs only to have her become obsessed with the wacky, lightning bolt covered one with ‘Stay Weird’ emblazoned across the chest. It had easily turned into one of Lo’s favorite outfits. 

“You planning on wearing sweatpants out?” Kara asked as Lo climbed off the table and went to change. 

Lena bent at the waist, stretching her arms out to grab the counter for support. “Contemplating it. I got my period this afternoon and I think my uterus is actually trying to fucking claw out of my body.”

“I guess I can play fashion consultant one more time today,” Kara drawled, tugging Lena up and into her side. “Though I don’t think we can make this a regular thing, you nag me way too much about mixing labels.”

Lena let herself be dragged towards her bedroom. “It’s tacky and you need to learn. And if you suggest I should wear jeggings again, I’m breaking up with you.”

“They’re built for comfort _and_ style, Lena.”

Lena face planted onto the bed with a groan. “They’re ugly.”

“And here I was expecting you to be a ray of sunshine for our first dinner out with Lo.”

Flipping onto her back, Lena rested her hands on her stomach. “All this last minute stuff with Jack is stressing me out. Plus my vagina hates me and I’m probably going to continue to be a giant bitch tonight.”

Kara flopped next to her. “Did you take any Midol?”

“Not yet, but I will. I feel like I should try and be pleasant. Lo’s excited to see Jack and I don’t want your first meeting with him to go badly.”

Kara gave Lena a quick kiss before sitting up. “Anything fun facts I should know about your baby daddy?”

That got a laugh out of Lena. “He’ll get pissed if you call him that to his face, for one. He specializes in biomedical engineering, works at a lab in Metropolis.”

“Fancy.”

“He also has a video game addiction, uses special beard oil, and has a tendency to be aggravatingly charming. Pretty much everyone at the start-up we worked at thought he had a crush on them,” Lena remembered. She, in her compulsive heteronormative naivety, had fallen victim herself. Though her reaction to it got her a kid and the glaring confirmation that she was, in fact, a lesbian. 

“What, is he going to be flirting with you all night?”

“In front of you? He wouldn’t dare.”

/////

Lena spotted Jack as soon as the pushed open the door to The Golden Dragon, as did Lo. Hair coiffed, in a soft tee, looking cool as ever, Lena expected. What she didn’t expect was the blonde woman to his left, clutching his hand. 

Jack saw them come in, letting go of the woman and squatting down so Lo could properly run into a hug. “Oh hey there Sprout!” He squeezed her tight, lifting her up with him as he stood back up. “Lena, it’s good to see you.”

Kara had held the door for both Lena and Lo and was caught a little off guard when she heard Jack’s British accent. That was a detail Lena had left out. His whole European demeanor continued as he greeted Lena with a double cheek air-kiss. She waited until Lena pulled back before extending an arm. “Hey, I’m Kara.” 

“Kara is Mama’s girlfriend,” Lo sing-songed, clarifying the obvious. “They kiss.” To further her point, she made a show of smacking a kiss of her own onto Jack’s bearded cheek. 

“Nice to finally put a face to a name,” Jack said. Letting Lo back down, he placed a hand on the small of the blonde woman’s back. “This is Liv.”

Liv gave a wave. “Hey.”

“Do _you_ guys kiss?” Lena asked, arching a brow. 

“Yeah they do!” Lo cut in before Jack or Liv could explain themselves. “Liv had a meanie roommate so she lives in Daddy’s house.” Being four, she picked up on none of the awkward tension that followed. “Daddy, do you see my Weird Suit?”

Lena’s jaw clenched. Jack having a girlfriend was something she was well aware of. It wasn’t something she had ever particularly cared about nor asked about, so Liv’s existence wasn’t really news to her. Jack’s life was his own. But learning of their shared living space, knowing that there was someone she didn’t know in the same house as her daughter, felt different. Regardless of her interest in Jack’s relationships, it wasn’t a detail that should have been glossed over. Before she could say or do anything, Kara’s hand at her elbow tore her from her thoughts. Their table was ready. 

Kara broke the tension once they were all seated, clearing her throat before talking. “So Liv, is this your first time in National City?”

Nodding, Liv gave a smile. “Yeah, the school year just wrapped up last week and when Jack said he was flying out here, I thought I’d join.”

“You teach?” Lena asked, trying her best to be friendly. 

“High school chemistry,” Liv said. “I originally taught kindergarten, but snarky pubescent knuckleheads have proven to be much more fun.”

“I bet.”

“And Kara, Lena’s mentioned you work at Catco?” Jack unwrapped his straw, sticking it into the water just placed in front of him. 

“Assistant to Cat Grant for two years and have been reporting for almost as much time,” Kara confirmed. 

“She writes about Mama _and_ Supergirl,” Lo interjected, looking pleased with her input. 

“And you too after today.” Kara poked Lo’s side, making her squeal. “I should be getting a preview of what we’re releasing if you guys want to look at it later.”

With an ankle looped around Kara’s next to her, Lena relaxed, conversation flowing easily between the four of them, Lo popping in with her own anecdotes. Despite her unwarranted appearance, Liv was nice and Lo seemed to like her just fine. Kara practiced humanly self-control, getting two orders of potstickers for the table, and only eating a slightly larger portion than everyone else. And Lo, for her first family dinner outing, was doing quite well. 

“What’s that?” Lo poked at a piece of shrimp with a chopstick. She had since finished her sesame chicken, a pile of fried rice left on her plate. 

“Shrimp,” Lena supplied. 

“It’s from the ocean, kind of like a fish. You can give it to me if you don’t like it,” Kara added, popping a piece of her own into her mouth. 

“You should try it first though,” Jack said. “Don’t want to make a judgment without knowing.”

Lo looked confused at all the adult input before deciding on putting the entire piece of shrimp in her mouth. It took one chew for her face to turn into a grimace, eyes bulging with a small gag. 

Lena’s hand instinctively shot under Lo’s chin. “Spit it out.” She was unphased as she caught the shellfish and a whole lot of drool, using a napkin to clean her hand off. 

“I didn’t like it.” 

“I’m not a fan either, kiddo,” Liv jumped in. “You’re pretty brave though, that was a big bite.” 

“I want more pop-stickers,” Lo whined, slumping in her chair. 

“You’re telling me I’ve got two addicts on my hands now?” Lena said, looking down at her watch. It was getting dangerously close to Lo’s bedtime. “We can always eat here again sweets. Are you finished?”

Doing more playing than eating with the remaining rice on her plate, Lo nodded, discarding her chopsticks and sliding even further down in her seat. 

“Man down,” Kara giggled, Lo disappearing from sight and onto the floor. 

Lena took the folded napkin off her lap, placing it back on the table. “That may be our cue to start getting ready to go.”

Jack flagged down their server, asking for the bill. He was adamant about paying, swatting away Lena’s card. “It’s my treat, Lee,” he insisted. “My compensation for showing up on such short notice.”

Begrudgingly putting her plastic back into her wallet, Lena shook her head. “That doesn’t matter, it’s not like I’m hosting the two of you.”

Lo’s head popped up in between Jack and Liv. “Daddy and Liv are sleeping over?”

“No, Sprout.” Jack attempted at getting her up, Lo wiggling too much and escaping back under the table. 

Liv took a friendlier approach, lifting up the tablecloth to peek a head under. “Your dad and I are staying at a hotel.” 

“Can I come?”

Jack looked at Lena for help, turning his attention to signing the receipt. 

“Not tonight,” Lena said, sticking her head under the table as well. She was met with a pouty face, a dried piece of rice stuck on a wobbling chin. “It’s already bedtime and you’d barely have any time to spend with them,” she explained softly. “If you get out from here and go ask daddy nicely, maybe you can tomorrow.”

The chin wobble stopped, a scrunchy smile taking its place as Lo crossed the table to crawl up onto Jack’s lap to tell him the news. 

Somewhere in her pitch of the idea, Lo managed to also convince Jack that she absolutely would not be able to go to bed that night if he wasn’t also there to say goodnight. Lena relented, Jack and Liv following them back to the apartment. 

Lo got to sleep relatively quickly, the hotel sleepover serving as perfect ammo for cooperation. Kara had Jack and Liv wine-d up by the time Lena came back from putting her down, breaking out one of the Tuscany reds. 

“Thanks,” Lena gratefully accepted the glass Kara passed her way. 

Jack was studying the bottle. “Lee, where’d you get this?”

Lena walked to his side, checking the label out herself. “It was a gift. This winery was serving at one of my conferences in Milan. Made an off-hand comment about loving the wine and then a box of it showed up in the mail two weeks later.”

“God, I wish that would happen to me,” Liv said, taking a gulp from her glass. 

If general conversation at dinner hadn’t been confirmation enough, Liv was really growing on Lena. “I still have a lot left if you want to take a bottle before you go,” she offered.

“I’d be an idiot if I declined that, thank you Lena.” Liv took another sip of wine, hitting Jack’s shoulder. “Don’t let me forget about that.”

“I won’t.” Jack put the bottle back on the counter. “So Kara, you said you were going to show us the preliminary article from today?”

“Oh yeah!” Kara pulled Lena’s laptop from the charger, handing it to her to get logged in. “James sent- James Olsen, my boss, texted me during dinner saying he sent me the draft. It should be going up first thing tomorrow morning.” She opened up her email when she got the laptop back. “Lena, you are going to love the photo we decided on.” Clicking the PDF of the layout James had sent, she took a step back to let the other three take a look at the short article. 

**_Lena Luthor’s Best Kept Secret_ **

_For years, the name Luthor has held a dismal connotation in the minds of citizens. Whether your mind goes to Lex, former Luthor-Corp CEO best known for his attempts at Metropolis’, Superman, or to Lillian Luthor, recently revealed as the head of alien-hating terrorist organization, Cadmus, it’s never a good thought. For the citizens of National City, however, the Luthor name has a new face._

_Lena Luthor, the half-sister and adopted daughter of the aforementioned two, made the move to National City nearly two years ago after taking over Luthor-Corp, (now L-Corp.) Since she’s arrived, Luthor has worked tirelessly for her company to live up to its new name and standard, to be a force for good._

_Luthor has proven herself to be just that. A successful businesswoman, brilliant engineer, and passionate CEO, she is now sharing a new title with the world: Mom._

_Meet Lorraine Luthor._

Under the words was the photo. Kara had gone through the camera roll with James, picking out her top five before leaving the expert to edit and choose what he thought was best. He had gone with Kara’s favorite, thankfully. It was snapped when Lo had ventured out in front of the podium, an open-mouthed grin plastered on her face as she looked out into the audience with awe. Lena was in the frame as well, leaning over the podium, peering down at Lo, matching her smile. It was a sweet, candid capture, James admitting he was glad he had heeded Kara’s advice of getting up close. 

“I love it.” Jack was the first to speak, looking away from the screen. “Little Sprout’s a ham.”

“It’s really cute,” Liv concurred. 

Kara was standing behind Lena’s stool, waiting for her reaction. Arms going back to encircle Kara, Lena pressed her head into Kara’s stomach, looking up at her. “This isn’t all of it, right?”

“Oh no, this is just the preliminary press article. They want to do a full story in Catco magazine, a photoshoot, a sit-down interview if you’re willing. Eve was going to reach out to Jess either tonight or first thing tomorrow morning to start scheduling it all,” Kara explained. Of course Lena ‘Extra AF’ Luthor expected more than one measly photo and a less than 200-word write-up. 

“Well, this is perfect then,” Lena said, agreeing with the room. “The picture is amazing, I forgot she even went up front like that. I’m pretty sure I’ve already blacked it all out, I was so nervous.”

“We watched the livestream this morning,” Liv said, “you didn’t look it at all.”

“Thanks.” Lena shut the laptop. “Do you all want to take this into the living room? I know the not that much farther away from Lo but it does get a weird echo in here and I really don’t want to keep her up.”

The four moved over to the couch, wine making the location switch as well.

“So, Kara, will you be doing the full article on Lena and Lorraine will it be something you will pass along to your colleagues?” Jack asked as they got settled. 

“Oh, it will definitely be me.”

Lena nodded. “I can’t say I trust anybody but Kara to do it.”

“People still wary of the Luthor name?” Liv questioned. 

“More than you know,” Lena murmured around another sip of wine.

“The photoshoot should be fun though.” Kara tried keeping it light. “I’m sitting in on concept ideas tomorrow.”

“The few I’ve done have been so awkward.” Lena folded her arms. “Part of me is hoping Lo doesn’t like it, I don’t know if I want her to get used to getting photos snapped of her.” 

“ Actually Lee, I was hoping we could talk about that,” Jack jumped in. “I know I’m just a background voice in the decision making but what are your plans going forward with all this? Lorraine has gone from zero exposure to who knows how much, especially after the article comes out.”

“That,” Lena reached to refill her quickly drained glass, “is a good idea. Do you want to-?” she motioned out to the balcony, a place they could talk a little more privately and she could yell at him if necessary.

Jack followed Lena towards the door, turning back to Kara and Liv. “You ladies don’t mind?”

Liv waved him off. “We’ll be okay, do you watch The Bachelor, Kara?”

“No…”

“Great, me either.” Liv cracked herself up as Lena and Jack disappeared out on the balcony. “Tonight’s been kind of weird, right? I know me showing up was a little unexpected.”

“Maybe just a bit,” Kara admitted. “If I’m being completely honest with you, Lena probably took Jack outside so she could ream him out about it.”

“And she has the right to,” Liv said. “I told him that a little warning goes a long way but he’s under the assumption people can read his mind or something. I do appreciate you guys being nice to me though.”

“Did you think we were going to be mean?” Kara feigned a small gasp.

“Well no, that wasn’t my general assumption, but I didn’t know what to expect. Can you blame a girl for being a touch intimidated?”

Kara scoffed. “By Lena maybe, I was a stuttering disaster the first time I met her.”

Liv gave her a look. “You too.”

“What?”

“Yeah, you.” Liv nodded to emphasize her point. “Two years as Cat Grant’s assistant… I met her at a book signing once, nearly wet myself, that woman is terrifying. And now you are the number one reporter that works with Supergirl, fucking Supergirl.” She took another sip of wine. “Excuse my language but you’re no slouch either Kara Danvers.”

/////

Tuesday morning started with an early freeway pile-up, Kara beginning her day with the DEO instead of Catco. 

Winn spun around from his desk as Kara landed on the balcony, coming his way. “That was quick.”

Giving a shrug, Kara dropped into the seat beside him, making sure her cape went over the backside of the chair. “Anything else before I head out? We’re planning out the full spread with Lena and Lo so I kind of have to be there.”

“Oh yeah, how’s that going?”

Alex joined them, handing a steaming travel cup of coffee over to Winn. “I want to know too, how was the baby daddy?”

Winn took a sip of coffee, face contorting as he burnt his tongue. “Ah, god, you met the dad?”

“It was fine, not really that big a deal, he was nice,” Kara said, using her feet to spin the chair side to side. “Lo’s staying with him tonight.”

Alex seemed unconvinced, leaning against Winn’s desk. “How’s Lena?”

“She stress ate half a bag of Veggie Straws in bed last night.”

Winn raised his hand slightly. “I’ve done that.”

“It was a Costco sized bag.”

Alex snorted. “You need to tell Lena I want to hang out with her more often.”

“She was just annoyed that Jack brought his girlfriend without telling her. And that she didn’t know they were living together when Lo was in Metropolis with them.”

“This is the kind of juicy gossip I wanted.” Alex kicked at Kara’s red boots. “Details.”

“Her name is Liv, she was actually really great,” Kara scrunched her face, there wasn’t much else to say. “Jack kept calling Lena, ‘Lee’.”

“I’m failing to see the importance or humor in that.”

“It’s so stupid, her name is literally only four letters, why does it need to be shortened? Lena is a beautiful name.” Kara was ranting before she could stop herself. 

“So you meet the man who knocked up your girlfriend and your only complaint is his nickname for her?” Winn pondered, mostly to himself, neither Danvers’ sister was really paying him any attention anymore.

Alex laughed. “So you refuse to call her anything but Lena?”

“I’m allowed to call her what I want, I just think Lee sounds dumb,” Kara argued. “It’s like if I started calling you Al. Would you like that? Hey Al, how’re you doing Al, good to see you Al.”

“You’re ridiculous.”

Kara started for the balcony. “I really need to go into work, catch you later _Al_.”

/////

Lena made sure she was home early enough from L-Corp to see Lo off for her hotel sleepover extravaganza, as it had been dubbed. Lo had learned ‘extravaganza’ from one of her shows and was fitting it in whenever possible. 

When Kara came back, they were finally alone. It took longer than it should have for the two of them to come to that realization and what it meant. Through all of dinner, a few episodes of Shameless, and a brief Supergirl emergency, an out of control house fire in the suburbs. Kara had returned smelling like smoke and immediately went to shower. Lena was in bed, tablet in her lap when Kara emerged from the steaming bathroom, all wrapped in a towel. 

Squeezing out her hair in another towel, Kara leaned against Lena, looking at her screen. “That guy is a sleazeball, why did you google him?”

“I had a meeting with PR today, we’ve been getting a lot of interview requests and I have final say in who we choose,” Lena said, letting her head loll into Kara’s damp side, she was still warm from the shower. 

“Well not him.”

Lena closed the tab. “I hate interviews, you are literally the first reporter I’ve ever liked.”

“Liked?” Kara let herself collapse onto Lena. “I thought you loved me.”

“You’re getting the bed wet.”

Kara lifted her head up, a smirk played across her lips. “Just the bed?” The towel had broken open, revealing more of Kara as she ignored fixing it, sitting up on her knees. 

Lena’s brow raised. “You proud of that one?”

The shit eating grin didn’t leave Kara’s face as she went in for a kiss. “I’m hilarious.”

Every part of Kara was soft and warm, Lena ignoring the clatter of her tablet falling to the floor as she tugged Kara closer. She took a deep breath when their lips eventually parted. “Off.”

“Your shirt?” Kara asked between kisses down Lena’s neck and on her collarbone. 

“Uh-huh.” It was half off anyways, Kara pushing it up as her hands had grasped Lena’s side and moved to her chest. 

Pausing long enough to pull the shirt over Lena’s head, Kara tossed it aside easily, going right back where she left off, her wet hair dripping onto Lena’s skin. She did not suppress the moan that came as Lena pulled her down, Lena’s thigh pressing into her. 

Lena bit down on her lip as Kara’s kisses began trailing lower, squirming as she hit a known ticklish spot, Kara’s thumb toying with the hem of her underwear. 

Then Lena’s phone went off. 

She gave it a glance, the device vibrating with a call. Kara’s thumb dipped below the hem and her attention was pulled, legs hooking around Kara’s. 

Then it went off again. 

Kara sat up, actually checking the phone this time. “It’s Jack.”

“Nooo…” Lena’s head fell back against the pillow, Jack calling could only mean one thing. 

Reaching for her discarded towel, Kara bit back a laugh. “Are you going to answer?”

Lena blew out an irritated breath before flopping onto her stomach, swiping open the call and putting it to her ear. “What?” She hadn’t meant to sound annoyed, she was, but she didn’t mean to make it so known. 

“I’m sorry, you know I wouldn’t be calling this late if it wasn’t important.”

Lena checked the clock on the bedside table. It was after two. “What’s going on with Lo, is she alright?”

“Physically, yeah, she’s not hurt or ill or anything. She had a nightmare.” Jack sighed. “We’ve been trying to calm her down but she’s been freaking out for almost a half hour. She wants you.”

“You want me to come pick her up?” Lena raked fingers through her hair. 

“If you wouldn’t mind, we’d have to Uber to you.”

“Can I talk to her?” 

“Sure, hold on. I’m outside, Liv’s got her in the lobby. We were getting noise complaints when we were up in the room,” There was a faint sound of an automatic door sliding open and then Lo’s crying was audible. The cries got louder, the phone getting passed over. “It’s Mama,” Jack said, his voice a bit muffled. 

Incoherent sobbing and a few attempts at ‘Mama’ erupted in Lena’s ear as Lo got ahold of the phone. Irritated as she was at the interruption, hearing Lorraine so upset tugged at her heart. “Sweetie, it’s me,” she cooed, keeping her voice soft. “Daddy said you had a bad dream.” The next round of sobs attempted to confirm. “I’m so sorry sweets, I know having nightmares is no fun. I’m going to come pick you up, okay? Kara too.” 

Lorraine managed an actual word, dragged out and tear-logged. “Okay.”

Lena wrapped up the call, a series of shushing, reminders of love and the promise of hugs, head going into her hands when she pressed end. 

Seated next to her, still totally naked, Kara put a hand on her shoulder. “I suppose a kiss wouldn’t help you right now.” Her fingernails dragged down Lena’s bare back teasingly. 

Lena stood with a groan, away from Kara’s slight touch, trying to ignore the ache and the slight slickness that had started between her legs. “Put on some fucking clothes, you’re driving.”

/////

Maggie’s laughter echoed throughout the main lobby of the DEO, she caught her breath for a moment before losing it all over again when she caught Kara’s eye. 

“What’s so funny?” Alex asked, walking up to the two women. 

Blood burned in Kara’s cheeks. “Maggie...”

Maggie ignored Kara’s request, giggles still bubbling out. “Baby Luthor has the worst timing known to mankind.”

Alex’s jaw dropped. “Did she walk in on the two of you?”

“No!” Kara exclaimed, louder than usual, turning a few agent’s heads. She lowered her voice. “Lo was supposed to stay with Jack last night but she had a nightmare and Jack called when we were um…”

“You were knuckles deep,” Maggie snickered. 

“I was not!” Kara caught her volume going up again, Alex pulling a face. “I wasn’t, we had just start- Alex- Maggie that’s not what I said.”

“I’m just messing with you, holy shit.” Maggie wiped under her eyes, tears having formed from all the laughter. 

The redness began disappearing from Kara’s face, initial embarrassment fading. It _was_ funny. “Lena was not happy.”

“I can’t imagine why.”

/////

Lena met Kara in the Catco lobby later that same day, Gucci sunglasses covering the majority of her face. 

“Hiding from paparazzi?” Kara asked, catching her in front of the lobby’s large pink panther statue, identical to the one upstairs. She was only half-kidding, the photogs in National City were starting to pay the Luthor more attention since Monday morning. James had been sent a file full of slightly blurry snaps of them walking into The Golden Dragon. 

Lena shook her head. “Just hiding the world from the enormous bags under my eyes. I look like I got punched in the face.”

“Our makeup team is amazing,” Kara reassured, leading her towards the elevator. She felt a little bad that the photoshoot wasn’t able to be pushed any further out, she knew a restless Lo in bed with them had led Lena to getting little to no sleep. “I’m sure you’ll look incredible.”

Lena tucked herself into Kara’s side as they stepped into an empty elevator, doors sliding shut. “With the miracle of photoshop, perhaps.”

“Want me to hit the emergency stop so we can have a quickie? I hear the post-orgasm glow translates beautifully on camera.”

“Shut it,” Lena giggled, eyes closed and cheek pressed against the soft fabric of Kara’s cardigan. “You still owe me for last night.”

“How were your meetings this morning?” Kara asked, changing the subject entirely as the doors opened with a small ding. She could only tease so much. 

“Save your questions for the interview, darling,” Lena snarked, breaking out of Kara’s arms as she spotted Lo at one of the makeup chair, Gen at her side. 

“Mama, you’re late!” Lo pointed an accusatory finger across the room as she saw them come in. 

Lena dropped her purse on an empty chair. “Was simply tied up at the office dear. Now look at you, straight from preschool to a photoshoot. What a glamorous life you lead.” 

Kara stayed back for a moment, arms folded. It never failed to endear her watching Lena switch into mom mode. Lo yelling her name brought her over to the makeup station, settling between the two of them as they got gussied up by the Catco beauty team, Gen heading out. While Lena was primed, covered up and contoured, one of the junior makeup artists humored Lo, giving her a light powder, a bit of highlight and a touch of rosy colored chapstick. Lena had already straightened her hair that morning, it only needing a few touch ups while Lo had hers twisted into two buns. The hairstyle was reminiscent of the first morning Kara had met Lo, the day she came over for breakfast. It was different this time, Lo was no longer a mystery. She was a ball of energy Kara had grown to love, a face that got obnoxiously too close to hers during conversation, pointy limbs that jabbed into her sides to wake her up in the morning, her new mini sidekick who she could affectionately call ‘nugget’. It was a lot and tears were gathering in her eyes before she knew what was happening. 

“Are you crying?” Lena sounded incredulous, unable to move as a dusting of pink champagne highlight was applied to her upper cheekbones. 

Kara blinked, snapping back to reality. “The lights are really bright in here.”

“Sure.”

/////

They did the photoshoot before the interview, making sure Lo was still high energy and that if time happened to bleed into napping hour, photos wouldn’t be plagued with overtired, sourpuss expressions. Lo was dressed in skinny cropped overalls, a magenta tee and was left barefoot. Lena stepped out in an equally magenta jumpsuit and the somewhat interesting choice of a pair of wedge sneakers. 

Making her way over to the set, Lena took the time to bend down and hiss in Kara’s ear, “Not a word about the shoes.”

Had the stylist not been in the room with them, Kara wouldn’t have listened. But, she always had when they got home.

As it turned out, Lo loved the camera. Her time spent behind an iPhone taking snapchats with Lena served her well as she pulled out duck faces, silly faces, and had the room in an uproar. She had even nailed Lena’s signature single eyebrow raise, the shot of the two of them doing it together a clear contender for the cover photo. 

Pulling Lo off the set proved to be the most difficult part of the day, Lena cajoling her with licorice whips and a can of La Croix. Kara took them to the break room, setting her voice recorder down on the table. “Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

Kara hit record, crossing her legs, notes in hand. “Alright, I’ll start off easy. I know things have been kind of nuts so far, but what is the best thing that’s come from letting the world in on your little secret?”

“I think just knowing that I don’t have to keep up this facade anymore. I can bring Lorraine into the office, run to the grocery store with her, go out to dinner. It’s really all the little things that for me, were normally such a huge ordeal in order to stay private,” Lena answered thoughtfully.

“And Miss Lo, what is something you haven’t been able to do with your mom that you’d really like to do?”

“Ummm…” Lo tapped a finger to her chin. “I wanna go to the zoo. Or the park. Gen taked me to a park with rocks you can climb on and I wanna show you.”

“We can totally do the zoo,” Lena said, pulling Lo onto her lap. Being able to say yes to requests like the zoo finally made her smile. 

“Interview pause, we should go to the zoo this weekend,” Kara suggested. “If I’m invited along that it.”

“You gotta come Kara!” Lo reached dramatically across the table. “Everyone is coming. Mama and you and Gen and Alex and Winn and Daddy and Liv.”

“That’s a lot of people, you trying to have a zoo party?” Kara asked.

Instead of answering, Lo launched into a musical mashup of all the songs she knew about zoos, slipping off Lena’s lap, licorice clutched in her fist.

“Maybe we can just ask Alex if she wants to come with us, Maggie too if she wants,” Lena said, giving a quick glance over to her singing and dancing child. “I’m not trying to bring a crowd.”

“I’ll text Alex tonight, should we plan on Saturday?”

“Yeah.”

Kara went back to her notes, the blinking red light of her recorder reminding her of the actual task at hand. “Okay, back to interviewing, oh, you’ll like this one, Ms. Grant wanted me to ask this.” She cleared her throat. “What would you like to preemptively say to the sexist idiots who still believe motherhood is the downfall of a woman’s career?” 

With another check to reaffirm Lo was preoccupied, Lena lowered her voice a bit. “For starters, I’d tell them to fuck off…”

/////

Wednesday lollygagged into Thursday and Thursday dragged into Friday. Work weeks were long and weekends too short, but this particular week had felt longer than most. By Friday, Lena could physically feel herself burning out. She was maxed out on media, maxed out on Jack and Liv, (they had all gotten dinner _again_ on Thursday night,) and she just wanted a good night of fucking sleep. As if the heaviness of exhaustion wasn’t enough, a steady ache behind her eyes set off after her late morning meeting with the Luthor’s Children Hospital board. Her lunch break was nonexistent, Kara texting that she was at the DEO and didn’t expect to be done any time soon. Not that she was hungry, but Lena forced herself through a quinoa and roasted veggie bowl anyways, eyes scanning R  & D documents. When she found herself reading the same sentence for the fifth time, she pressed her comm to Jess. 

“Jess, would you mind getting me an espresso?”

“You sure you just don’t need a nap?”

Lena’s lips turned up at the retort. Jess had been getting a little less formal and a little more sassy as time went on. Never unprofessional, Jess was a challenger, kept Lena on her toes and on track. She wasn’t a ‘yes-woman’ at her side to boost her ego and Lena appreciated the pull back down to Earth every once in a while. Hitting the button again, she tried a, “Please?”

The office door pushed open, Jess coming in empty-handed. 

“What?”

“I’ll get you the coffee if you really want it, but your afternoon schedule is clear. No meetings, no calls, no deadlines. If you want to sit here and do extra work, fine. But it’s Friday and there is nothing wrong with taking the rest of the day off.”

Lena took Jess’ advice. Most days she would have waved her off, there was always things to do. But she was _tired_. Taking a car home, she didn’t realize how long it had been since she came home to a quiet apartment until she walked in to just that. The lights were off, no blaring Frozen soundtrack, no dishes to do, just a whole lot of nothing. Dropping all of her belongings at the front closet, Lena tugged her hair out of its tight updo and replaced business professional with hobo chic. Contacts replaced with glasses and wrapped in a long, fuzzy sweater, she popped an ibuprofen and settled on the couch with her tablet. She lit one of her soy candles and put lavender and chamomile essential oils into her scent diffuser to further ease her headache. Lo was due at 6:00 from an afternoon with Jack and Liv, meaning Lena had a solid four and half uninterrupted chill hours. 

Twenty minutes pre-return of the likely sugared up child, Lena realized three things. One, she had no idea where the hell she had left her phone and lacked any motivation to get up and look for it. Two, she was still responsible for feeding said-child when she got back. And three, she was queasy, uncomfortably so. 

Number two took precedence, Lena mustering the energy to go all out, scrambling and seasoning two eggs for Lo and jamming two pieces of bread in the toaster for herself. Lorraine had no complaints with the sub-par meal when she got back, regaling her tales of the day with enthusiasm. 

“We did a caterpillar book at reading time and we had a real-life caterpillar and I held it,” Lorraine informed her. “And Daddy and Liv got me and I showed them my cubby _and_ the monkey bars.”

“Did you show them how you can hang upside-down now?” 

Lorraine had just stuffed a forkful of eggs into her mouth. “Yup.”

Ignoring the show of chewed up egg she just got to see, Lena nibbled the edge of her toast. She couldn’t even think of stomaching anything else but noticed the food on Lorraine’s plate disappearing quickly. “You still hungry baby?” 

“Mmhm.” Lorraine nodded, her little pink fork still in her mouth. “We still have ‘tatoes?”

Lena had forgotten about the pan-fried sweet potatoes she had made the other day. Past her was a saint. “Good idea sweets.” She dropped her toast back on her own plate and went to the fridge, pulling the container out. “Do you want some yogurt too?”

“Yes please!”

Reaching back into the fridge, Lena pulled out the tub of coconut milk yogurt and some blueberries. She stuck the potatoes in the microwave and grabbed a bowl from the cabinets. She spooned the yogurt in, tossed in a handful of plain Cheerios and blueberries. 

“Don’t forget the honey!” Lorraine called from the counter. 

“I won’t.” By the time Lena had finished drizzling the honey, the microwave went off. Pulling out the potatoes, she snagged a spoon and brought all the food back. 

“Where’s Kara?” Lorraine asked, double fisting her silverware and shoving a spoonful of yogurt in her mouth. 

“Working late.” Lena sat back down next to her. 

“What about the zoo?”

Lena went to rub an eye. “We’re going tomorrow, work won’t take that long.”

“Are you sleepy?”

“It’s been a long week,” Lena said truthfully. “How do you feel about skipping your bath tonight, making some tea and just watching a movie?”

Lo’s eyes widened. “Star Wars?”

“Sure. Why don’t you finish up and I’ll make the tea while you get on your jammies?” Without a response, Lo got to work on polishing off her dinner and Lena choked down the remainder of her toast, the food settling heavy in her stomach.

A few minutes later, Lorraine mumbled an, “All done,” through a full mouth. She climbed down from her stool and was off to her room. 

Glad she had gone along with the lazy night plans, Lena gathered the dishes and tossed them in the dishwasher. She put the tea kettle on the stove for herself and put a mug in the microwave to get some warm water for Lorraine’s sippy cup. She had tossed the Children’s Chamomile in and screwed on the cap when Lo reentered, Lovie in tow. Following her to the couch with the sippy cup, Lena turned on the TV and found Star Wars in their digital movie collection. 

“Thank you!” Lorraine’s eyes were already glued to the screen as she took her cup, wiggling her lower half into her mermaid tail blanket. 

Lena dropped the remote on the couch when she heard the tea kettle whistling and went to pull it off the burner, pouring some into a mug. Choosing a packet of ginger tea in hopes of quelling the nauseous feeling in her stomach, she sat on the couch, Lo curling into her side as the beginning scenes of The Force Awakens played out on-screen. 

As the ending orchestral music swelled and credits popped up, Lena was officially feeling like shit and was stuck under the body of a snuggly, half-asleep preschooler. As much as she wanted to just shut her eyes and let the two of them sleep where they were, she knew they needed to get up. She needed Lo away from her and she needed to be horizontal in her own bed. A feat easier thought than done, the credits were long over when she finally stood, scooping Lo up too. She carried her to the bathroom to brush teeth before laying her down, the full extent of the nighttime routine thankfully ignored. Lena all but collapsed when she reached her bed, it was just past 9:00 pm but with Kara gone there was no reason to stay awake any longer. She was exhausted, shaky, but she could sleep it off, she had to. Wrapping the comforter around herself tightly, not even bothering with the lights, she was out without another thought. 

/////

Lena woke to a dark room, Kara’s silhouette in the bathroom with the sink running. Toothpaste was spat, water turned off, Kara making her way to the bed, a hushed, “Shit,” dropping out as one of her shins hit the bed frame. Not bothering to take any of the blankets Lena was clearly hogging, Kara climbed in beside her. The room grew quiet and Lena slipped back into unconsciousness. 

/////

Bleary eyes snapped open again, the clock on her bedside table showing it was just after four in the morning. Sleep-addled and slightly confused, Lena sat up, Kara’s side of the bed empty. An uncomfortable roil of her stomach reminded her why she was awake, she was 100% going to throw up. 

With heavy limbs, she peeled off the comforter and walked back to her bathroom, hand smashing uncoordinatedly against the wall to hit the light switch. Sinking down in front of the toilet, she rested her elbows on the seat, pulled back her own hair and waited for the inevitable. Her eyes squeezed shut, body lurching with a retching burp. It was a few more miserable minutes before her stomach finally gave in, heaving seemingly all she had eaten into the bowl. She half expected Kara to show up, warm hands to rub up and down her back, offering some semblance of comfort. She wasn’t sure why, having never once been coddled through an illness. Besides, she was clearly alone, Kara obviously pulled back out for another emergency. Alone except for Lo down the hall, and she prayed to whatever god that was listening that she would not wake up and witness what was going on. 

She flushed the toilet with shaking hands when she was sure she was done, shivering even though her clothes stuck to her skin with sweat. Reaching into the shower, she turned the hot water on, waiting until it got steamy before standing up to strip. Once in the shower, she sank down to the tiled floor, arms wrapping around her knees, letting the spray just hit her, warm her up, make her feel better. She sat until the water ran cold, getting up slowly to towel herself dry. Back in her room, she put on underwear and slipped a large t-shirt over her head, the same Kara had discarded on her way out. Stomach still churning uneasily, Lena couldn't bring herself to crawl under the covers, like she would taint it with her germs. Dragging the knit blanket from the foot of the bed with her, she went into the bathroom again instead, opting to lay on the floor. She settled her head on the bunched up bath towel near the toilet, the early morning light just starting to trickle in through the blinds.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "My boobs making you feel better?"
> 
> This is literally just fluff. Sorry not sorry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to thank apple chips and the excessive levels of caffeine from the 8+ teas I have to try at work every day for making this happen.
> 
> Hope you enjoy! Smash down a kudos if you haven't already and hit me up with a review

Kara was balancing a tray of coffee and a bag of donuts in one hand while attempting and struggling, to unlock Lena’s apartment door with the other. "It's me!" She called out, door finally swinging open, the usual noise commotion not hitting her in the face.

It didn’t take long for the scampering feet to reach the hallway, Lo running up with serious bedhead and a toothy smile. “Kara!”

“Hey nugget!” she greeted, bending down so the little girl could hug her neck and wrap her legs around her. Using her foot to shut the door, she walked into the apartment, Lo clinging to her like a koala. “Where’s Mama?”

“Her tummy feels icky so- you got treats?!” Lo ignored finishing her answer as soon as she noticed the white paper bag. 

“Donuts, gotta carbo-load for the day,” Kara said, giving it over for Lo to hold. Rounding the corner, she saw Lena in the darkened living room, lit only by the TV. She was curled in a blanket on the couch, a plastic cleaning basin set near her on the coffee table. “Hey!” Kara deposited the drinks on the counter, letting Lo to her feet as she stepped down into the living room. “Blue one with sprinkles is yours,” she said as Lo settled back on the rug with her pastry. She had more than likely been parked there all morning, having assembled a little nest with blankets and couch pillows, a banana peel, a knocked over cup of Cheerios, and her Lovie off to the side as an episode of Bill Nye the Science Guy finished up onscreen. 

Pushing her own blanket out of her face, Lena lolled her head to the side, croaking out a, “Morning.”

Kara sank down near her feet, reaching a hand out to rest on Lena’s arm. “Your stomach’s bothering you?” she asked, acknowledging the slim details Lorraine had provided, knowing whatever response she got probably did not fare well for their big day plans. 

“Mmm,” Lena answered non-committedly, a hand grabbing onto Kara’s, absentmindedly playing with her fingers. 

“Mama throwed up,” Lo supplied through a mouthful of donut, frosting smearing on her upper lip. 

Kara’s face fell. “Lena...”

“Really early this morning,” Lena clarified. “It’s fine.” She brushed it off, withholding the fact that Lo had found her curled up on the bathroom floor at six am. “I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine,” Kara said, raising her brows. 

“I am.” Lena blew out a sigh. “Lo, do I look fine?”

“No.”

Lena ignored the traitorous response. “I’ll be okay in a few hours,” she tried, one last attempt in convincing against her clear unwellness. Lo had been raving about the zoo since they had made the plans and she’d be damned if she let her stupid immune system ruin the weekend.

Pressing a palm to Lena's forehead, Kara was unsurprised at the emanating heat, pulling the hand away and wiping it on her pants. “You’re running a fever, Lena.”

“Crinkle,” Lena mumbled, untangling the blankets and poking at Kara’s telltale sign of worry. 

Kara swatted her away, the wrinkle between her eyebrows disappearing. “You’re sick. How exactly were you planning on powering through a day at the zoo?”

“Lots of drugs.”

“We could take your throw up bowl,” Lo offered, fingers stuck in her mouth to get every last bit of sugar off. “What are drugs?”

“Medicine,” Lena self-corrected before sighing in defeat. “You do know that you two can go without me.”

Kara leaned into her blanket lump of a girlfriend. “I love how you think I would even consider the idea of leaving you alone like this, you’re stuck with me.”

“And the munchkin?”

“I can see if Alex and Maggie are down with taking her themselves if you’re okay with that?”

“I’m okay if they’re okay,” Lena said, an arm wrapping around her stomach. 

Kara took her phone out of her back pocket, preemptively pulling up her group conversation with Alex and Maggie. “What do you think, Lo?”

Finished eating, Lo picked at the paper wrapper. “I want to go with you and Mama…” Her lower lip jutted out.

As if Lena wasn’t feeling guilty enough. “Lorraine,” she started. 

Kara cut in. “Hey, hey. No sad faces here.” She turned to Lo. “You’ve got all summer to take zoo trips with me and Mama, but now you’ve gotten a super opportunity to go with Alex and Maggie who will probably let you eat more cotton candy than Mama would.”

“She’s right,” Lena backed her up. She loved how good Kara was getting at diffusing Lo.

And diffuse she had, Lo breaking into a smile. “I’m gonna get every color!” 

Kara sent the text off, getting a response right away. “It’s settled then, they’ll be over here in a half hour. Lo, let’s go get you dressed and brush those blue teeth of yours.”

Lo looked incredulous. “My teeth are blue?!”

“Yeah, that donut must have turned you into a Smurf. Piggyback?” Kara offered. 

Not needing any more prompting than that, Lo stood up on the coffee table and leaped onto Kara’s back, wrapping her sticky arms/hands around her. “Giddyup!”

Kara shot an, ‘I got this’ look back at Lena before taking off for the bathroom, coming to a stop at the sink. “First order of business, teeth.”

Sliding off of Kara’s back and onto her step-stool, Lo grabbed her toothbrush. She reached for her toothpaste but stopped when she caught her reflection in the mirror, the sight of her frosting dyed teeth and lips making her burst out into a fit of giggles. “Look at me Kara, I’m blue.” It took some gentle prodding to motivate putting the paste on the brush, the actual brushing taking even longer. Lo was more interested in making faces in the mirror, paste dripping out of her mouth and threatening to get in her hair at each pause. 

When the theatrics stopped, toothbrush going back in the Star Wars holder, Kara gave her a quick once over with a washcloth. “Outfit next?”

“I want to pick it out myself!” Lo jumped from the stool and ran to her room before Kara could get a word in. She waited while Lo fussed in her closet before emerging in a half-on, black and white striped romper and white sneakers, dragging a leather jacket behind her. “I’m stuck.”

“That you are. Need some help?”

“Okay.”

After getting her arms through the correct openings and putting her jacket on, Kara grabbed a brush and worked through tangled, dark hair. She put it up in a ‘messy ball like Mama wears to work’, pushing it back with a white, knotted headband. As they started making their way back to Lena, Lo stopped dead in her tracks with a gasp.

Kara stopped too. “What?”

“I forgot something, make sure Mama is ready because I am a fashion show!” 

Lo was out of sight before Kara could inquire further. She wandered back to her lump of a girlfriend. “We’re about to get a performance.”

“Oh god,” was all Lena managed before Lo skid back into the kitchen, hiding behind the counter.

“Are you ready for me?!”

It took Lena more effort than usual to pull herself up, Kara helping her into a sitting position. “Let’s see it.”

Lo cleared her throat, still behind the counter. “Introducing Lorraine Luthor, fashion princess of National City!” She finally strut her way out, jumping down into the living room and striking a dramatic pose in front of the couch. “Ta-da!” She was now sporting sunglasses, about ten cheap, beaded necklaces, one glove, and was holding onto her BB-8 umbrella. 

Lena put on a smile, giving the ensemble a once over. “Wow! Killer jacket, I think Alex and Maggie are going to love it.”

Kara gave a thumbs up. “Nailed it,”

“Oh and I, um, Mama I got some of your lipstick.” Lo sheepishly held out a tube of Lena’s Louboutin Rouge lipstick. “Can you put it on me please?”

“Of course, come here.” Lena didn’t have the energy to fight Lo on the choice of product. The kid could have picked anything out of her makeup bag and had settled one of the most expensive lipsticks in there. Having to concentrate a little more than usual to keep her hand steady, Lena colored in Lo’s lips bright red. “All good babe.” She set the gaudy tube back on the coffee table.

Kara let out a low whistle. “Well someone looks fancy.” 

Lo’s little brow furrowed and she took off her sunglasses, getting closer to Lena and studying her face. “You want me to stay here, Mama?”

“Kara’s going to take care of me,” Lena reassured. “I’d love for you to stay and help too but I don’t want to give you any of my sick germs.”

“But what if you give sick germs to Kara? You kiss her a lot.”

“I’ll be careful,” Kara giggled. 

Lena shook her head. “You’re a piece of work kid.”

Kara pulled out her phone to check the time. “Anything else you need Miss Lo? Your ride is almost here.”

“I need my monkey purse!” She was off and running again.

Lena dug her head into the couch cushion. “She’s insane.” 

“She’s your kid.” 

Lorraine came back in, sans glove and a few necklaces, now holding a fuzzy monkey bag. “I’m really, _really_ ready now.” 

/////

Fifteen minutes later, Lorraine was en route to the zoo and Lena was camped back out on the bathroom floor. Kara had followed, dutifully, of course, but failed to see the reasoning behind Lena’s preference of laying on the tiles opposed to the couch or her bed. 

Standing in the doorway, Kara watched as Lena curled up with the knit blanket that had conveniently been on the floor. “Are you sure you won’t be more comfortable somewhere else?”

“I’m cold,” Lena said, a small shiver accompanying her statement. “And the floor is heated in here.” She pointed to the switch she had flicked on, the room filled with a quiet hum as the coils beneath the tiles were warming up. 

“You could also put on some pants and get under a few blankets.” 

Lena was still in just the t-shirt. "No."

Kara sighed. “Fine, but I’m getting you a pillow.” She disappeared momentarily, returning with a pillow from the bed. 

“Not that one, I don’t want to get the pillowcase dirty.”

“As opposed to the cheek you have pressed against the hopefully semi-clean floor?”

Moving as little as possible, Lena unstuck her cheek from the tile to rest on the towel still there from her sunrise shower. “Better?”

Kara tossed the pillow back into the bedroom and strode fully into the bathroom, plopping down next to Lena and pulling her head onto her lap. “How’s this as a compromise?”

Adjusting into a comfortable position, Lena nodded against Kara’s thigh. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

Lena swallowed hard, an attempt to suppress the queasiness in her stomach and the lump from forming in her throat. “Ruining the day, being grumpy…”

“You have nothing to be sorry about, love. You’re sick, you’re allowed to get sick. If anything, I should be the one apologizing, I should have been here last night.”

"There wouldn't have been anything for you to do,” Lena said, “I crashed right after Lo, thought I could sleep it off."

"I still feel bad."

“We were okay, I don’t think you need to feel bad.”

“I do anyways.” Kara brushed the stray hairs out of Lena's face, threading her fingers through the dark locks. 

"I'm used to taking care of myself, it really doesn't bother me." Lena wasn’t sure why she was insisting on playing it cool. Like her inner monologue the night before hadn’t been a wish for Kara to be there for her, to make her feel better as she hugged the toilet, grout digging into her knees. She wrote it off as a side effect of her neglectful upbringing. 

As if she could tell what Lena was thinking about, Kara paused before asking, “What did Lillian do if you or Lex were sick growing up?”

“Well, she was a doctor so she was pretty methodical about it. Bedrest, temperature recorded before each timely medication dose, quarantined from the rest of the family, it was an inconvenience for her more than anything else. But it was always lonely, I hated it, I did everything I could to stay healthy.”

"That’s kind of awful."

“Yeah.” Lena was quiet for a moment, turning so she could look up at Kara. “One time, god I must have been around nine or ten, I got sick before a chess tournament. I didn’t want Lillian to know so I took a bunch of cold medicine before she got up, I can’t remember if it was even a cold. Either way, I have no memory of the actual tournament, all I know is that I lost spectacularly and then passed out while Lillian reamed me out for my poor performance.”

“Lena…” 

“I woke up at home hooked up to IV antibiotics. Lillian was sitting by me and I thought that maybe she had actually been worried, had been watching over me, waiting to apologize.” Lena turned so she was facing away again. “Instead, after seeing I was awake, she just walked out. She shook her, muttered something like, ‘stupid girl,’ and left.” It was Kara’s turn to be quiet. Lena didn’t blame her, it wasn’t an easy topic, a topic she spent the majority of her time repressing. “Being taken care of is a completely new territory and I might push back a little, but I am happy that you’re here.”

Choosing actions instead of words, Kara scooped Lena into a hug, hand pulling her head close. 

“Too tight,” Lena squeaked, the added pressure not doing her stomach any favors.  
Kara loosened up immediately, looking sheepish. “You’ll let me know if you feel worse, if you actually need a doctor and not just me trying to cuddle the sick right out of you?”

“This isn’t doctor bad, and of course I’ll tell you. I’m not that big of a masochist, I know you’re not my bitch of a mother.”

“Good,” Kara said, letting Lena settle her head back in her lap. "I just want you to feel comfortable asking me for help, I really love you, you know."

"Even when I'm gross and pukey?"

"Even then." 

Lena felt the corners of her lips turn up, her eyelids drooping, lashes sticking together, nose pressing into Kara’s middle. "I think I just wanna sleep right now, ‘kay?"

Kara tucked her head down, pressing three kisses on Lena’s cheek. “Okay.”

/////

Lena woke up alone on the couch, having been relocated at some point during her nap. Judging by the lack of stiffness in her neck, it was probably the right call. Despite her absence, Kara had definitely stocked her up on any and all medical supplies she apparently found in the apartment. The coffee table was covered, a box of tissues, Tums, ibuprofen, Pepto Bismol, Dayquil, Nyquil, nasal spray, a thermometer, old cough drops, Vicks VapoRub, Children’s Motrin, a box of essential oils, and a glass of water. It was a sweet gesture and so very Kara. Not needing the majority of it, Lena shook out some Tums and popped them into her mouth, chewing as she poured two ibuprofen capsules into her hand. She took the pills and washed them down with a few sips of water, dragging herself to her feet. 

“You’re alive!” Kara called out, seeing the movement on the couch. “You feeling any better?”

Shaking her head, Lena slipped into the stool next to Kara at the counter. “I just took some medicine.”

“I didn’t know what you needed so I just brought you everything.”

“I saw. Thank you.” Lena put her elbows on the table, resting her chin on her forearms, the act of holding her own head up just making her dizzy. “What time is it?”

“Quarter to one, you napped hard.”

“When did you get that?” she asked, referring to the takeout container of pot stickers Kara had sitting in front of her. 

Kara’s face went a little pink. “I ordered it. I didn’t want to raid your cabinets, I always feel bad when I do that.”

“You do know I buy extra food specifically for that reason.”

Kara waved her statement off. “Whatever I wanted pot stickers. I got you that vegetable soup from Galway. It’s in the fridge, I didn’t know when you were going to wake up.”

“You flew to Ireland?”

“You said it was your favorite thing when you couldn’t stomach anything else. It literally only took a couple minutes both ways.”

Lena felt herself melt. “You’re too nice to me.”

“There’s no such thing as too nice,” Kara said before shoving an entire pot sticker in her mouth. Chewing, her eyes widened, waiting until she swallowed before speaking. “Oh, Alex sent me a few pics of Lo!”

“She driving them nuts yet?”

Kara shot her a look. “You know they love her.” She unlocked her phone, pulling up the photos Alex had texted. “Look at this.” The first photo was Lo sitting on Maggie’s shoulders, feeding a leaf to a giraffe. Red lips still mostly intact, she was giving an over exaggerated scared face, the excitement in her eyes giving her true emotions away as the giraffe’s tongue reached towards her outstretched hand. Kara swiped and showed the next one, Lo in front of the lion exhibit, in a safari hat, teeth bared and hands clenched in little claws. 

“What a ham.”

“She’s pretty stinking cute.” Taking another bite, Kara almost spit out her food when her phone vibrated with another picture message. 

Lena leaned over to see a photo of Lo giving the ice cream cart some major side eye, Alex’s text reading _‘she’s pissed there are no dairy-free options.’_ “Jesus she is so my child.”

“That side eye is 100% you,” Kara agreed, putting her phone back down. “So, do you want the soup now or later?”

“Later.” Lena shifted uncomfortably on the stool, resting her head back on her arms. 

“Go lay down again, I’m almost done.”

“Can we cuddle again?” Lena asked softly, starting to succumb to her sick day pathetic-ness. 

Kara tilted her head, looking over at her pale girlfriend. “Do you even have to ask?” She turned back to her food, working on finishing up quickly as Lena trudged back to her blanket cocoon. She cleaned up after herself and followed minutes later. 

/////

Lena lasted through a full episode of Fixer Upper, muttering about wanting Joanna Gaines to design her a house, before passing out again. Kara kept watching, exposed beams and sliding barn doors keeping her engrossed for two more episodes, a switch in shows finally getting her to turn the TV off. (It was Flip or Flop and Tarek El Moussa made Kara want to bash her head in with a sledgehammer.) Easing Lena down onto a pillow instead of her lap, she stood up. During Lena's first nap she had cleaned the kitchen and her bathroom, trying to minimize the spread of whatever illness she had. This time she took to straightening up Lorraine's toy area behind the couch. Taking a stray jacket back to the coat closet, she found Lena's phone laying on the floor next to her discarded purse. She plugged the now dead phone into the charger in the kitchen and made her way back to the couch. Lena had curled up into a ball, face pinched and arms around her stomach. Laying a hand on her forehead again, Kara frowned, it was just as warm, if not warmer than before. 

Lena leaned into her touch. “Kara…”

“I’m right here.”

Groaning, Lena's eyes cracked open. “I really don’t feel good,” she admitted, her voice croaky and sleepy. "My stomach hurts."

“Doctor?”

“No.”

"Okay, I'm going to get you some new water." Kara took the old, hardly touched water from the coffee table and moved into the kitchen, catching sight of the charging phone, glowing with new messages. "I found your phone."

This elicited another groan from the sick Luthor. “I’ll deal with it later.”

After refilling the glass, she returned to the couch, setting it down when Lena made no attempt at moving. “You should drink some."

Lena ignored the instruction, rolling so that she was facing Kara. “Cuddle with me…”

Kara sat back on the couch, gathering Lena in her arms. She almost wanted to laugh, she'd never seen her girlfriend be so whiny. “I think we should see if Alex and Maggie can take Lo for the night. Or Jack and Liv, is their flight tomorrow night?”

“No, they were leaving today.”

“Okay, Alex and Maggie then.” Kara pressed a kiss down on Lena’s exposed collarbone. “You seem so miserable.”

“I don’t want to impose on them,” Lena murmured. “They’ve had her all day.” 

“Lena, you’ve barely been able to stay awake today. I’m obviously going to be staying here too but what if there’s a Supergirl emergency? What if I’m not here and Lo needs something or god forbid you get her sick too?” 

Without answering, Lena readjusted to lay her head down on Kara's chest, nuzzling in.

Kara let out a laugh. "My boobs making you feel better?"

“No.” Lena shifted again, lifting herself back up, nausea back, acid burning the back of her throat. “I think I’m going to throw up.”

Normally, Kara would have made a joke about taking offense to that response, but Lena’s face had gone ashen so she quickly pulled her to her feet and led her back to her bathroom. She couldn’t do much as Lena broke from her grasp, dropping in front of the toilet with a horrid retch. Unphased, Kara kneeled beside her, twisting her hair out of the way and placing a soothing hand on her back.

There wasn’t much for Lena to bring up, having not eaten all day, her body trying valiantly anyways. Unpleasant as it was, she was painfully aware of Kara watching her dry heave, even she was disgusted by whatever her digestive system was trying to prove. “You don’t have to stay in here,” she choked out as soon as her stomach gave a small reprieve. 

“I know.” Kara let her fingertips start tracing patterns on Lena’s back. “It’s not like I followed expecting you to puke glitter, it’s okay.”

“It’s gross,” Lena managed before lurching forward again, entire body shuddering as bile splashed into the water below. 

Kara shrugged, not moving. “I’ve dealt with worse. Did you know I can literally hear your stomach contracting?”

“Ew, Kara.”

It was another few minutes before Lena felt comfortable enough to flush and shut the lid. She let her weight fall against Kara, taking the offered toilet paper to clean her nose and mouth. Balling up the used paper, she threw it in the trash, hitting with unusually good aim. “Can you believe you have sex with me?” Lena sniffed, an air of humor in her voice despite unwanted tears stinging behind her eyes. 

“Aw, honey.” Kara placed a kiss on Lena’s warm temple, combing fingers through dark hair. She fell silent as Lena breath trembled, another sniff following, her face pressing into Kara’s shirt. It wasn’t hard to deduce that regardless of the lighthearted commentary, she was trying to stop herself from crying, something she almost never did. She got teary, yes, that was harder to control, but actual crying was a Lena Luthor rarity. Kara waited it out, one hand scratching lightly at Lena’s scalp, the other trailing down her back.

Lena’s breathing eventually slowed back to normal, the sniffling stopping, pulling back with teeth clenched, jaw set, though an unmistakable dampness clumped her eyelashes together. “You can call Alex.”

Even though it was what she wanted, Kara didn’t revel in the giving in. Kissing Lena’s forehead lightly, she stood up. “I’ll be back.” With a gentle rub of Lena’s shoulder, she walked out to get her phone, not missing the clatter of the toilet seat being flung open again and the subsequent gag as soon as she was out of the room. The phone was on the kitchen counter, Kara quickly pulling up Alex’s contact. 

“Hey, we were just about to call you!” It was Maggie, voice muffled by the Moana soundtrack playing loudly in the background.

“Sounds like you guys are having a good time,” Kara said, listening as Lo really went for a high note. 

“We just left the zoo,” Maggie explained, “Alex is driving. You guys ready for the little one back already?”

Kara sighed. “That’s kind of what I’m calling about. Is it alright if Lorraine stays at your place tonight?”

“Oh, um, I guess.” Maggie paused. “Let me- hold on.” The music went down. “Danvers, you okay with extending this babysitting adventure until morning?”

“A sleepover!” At least Lo sounded pumped.

“Yeah,” Alex responded. “That Kara?” Maggie must have nodded a confirmation. “Lena doing okay?” The phone was handed over to Alex, her voice becoming the clearest. “Hey, how’s it going over there?”

“As good as it can be.” Kara leaned on the counter. “She just threw up, been sleeping mostly though. I don’t think Lo should be here if she doesn’t have to be.”

“That sounds like the best call, you know it’s no issue for her to stay with us. Sorry, I need to hand you back to Maggie, there’s traffic. We’ll stop over in a few.”

The phone was passed again, Maggie back on the line. “I guess we’re coming over?”

“Yeah, I’ll get some of Lo’s things together, I don’t think you’ll want her spending the night if she doesn’t have her Lovie.” 

“Cool, cool,” Maggie said, voice louder as the music was turned back up per an indignant background request. “I’ll probably send just Alex up, Lo has been talking up the fish in the lobby so I can stay down with her.”

“You gotta meet Paul!”

“Sounds good, I don’t want to keep you so I’ll talk to you guys soon?” Kara asked, wrapping it up.

“I’ll text when we’re downstairs, do you want to say ‘bye’ to Kara, Lo?”

“Bye bye Kara!” 

Lena emerged from the back hallway as Kara ended the call, going straight to press into her side. She had changed into another one of Kara’s shirts, a baggy long sleeve this time, a pair of fuzzy socks on her feet. Having gone a little overboard on the mouthwash, she smelled like a boozy candy cane. “Couch again,” she mumble-instructed.

/////

All it took was to successfully snuggle up on Kara’s chest and Lena was out again. The notification from the front desk that Alex was on her way up, followed by a knocking at the door forced Kara ease her way out from under Lena, trying not to wake her. She was successful, walking over to pull open the door. “Hey.”

“Alright, before I forget. I need to get Rapunzel pajamas. Not the nightgown, the giant t-shirt she got from Disneyland. Oh and the Star Wars socks, with um... shit, some character on them,” Alex rattled off, stepping in. 

“I can get everything. Lena has a bag she always sends Lo with when she goes to her Jack’s. It has all her little lotions and random toiletry things she insists on having.”

“Where is Lena?”

“On the couch, passed out," Kara said. 

"Want me to go check on her, give you my doctor prognosis?" Alex joked.

"Please."

While Kara went to Lo’s room, Alex ventured into the living room, finding the woman where Kara said she’d be. “How you doing Luthor?”

“Mmmm…” Lena's eyes fluttered open for a moment at the disturbance, noticing the new presence. "How's my child?"

"Currently telling Maggie the name of every single fish downstairs. She's been an angel." Bending down, Alex took it upon herself to lay a hand on her forehead. “You doing okay?”

“Is Kara worried?”

"Would she be Kara if she wasn't?" Alex smiled. "I can't say I'm much different. Your mini-me was pretty elaborate in her storytelling of finding you this morning. I think she said something along the lines of, 'Mama looked like a dead person,'"

"Lorraine has a big mouth."

"How many times have you thrown up today?"

Lena rubbed her eyes. "Twice?" She stopped to think a moment. "Before Lo found me and then a little bit ago."

Alex sat down on the coffee table. “So it’s not gastroenteritis or anything, and you don’t sound congested like it’s the flu…”

“Just a shitty virus,” Lena concurred. 

"Have you been rehydrating?" Alex asked, the following silence making her sigh and shake her head. She took the untouched glass of water from the table and forced it into Lena’s hands. “Drink.”

Reluctantly taking a small sip, Lena grimaced as it went down. “You’re pushier than Kara.”

“Yeah, well Kara can be an idiot when it comes to human ailments and you’re paler than my ass in the winter.”

Lena smirked into the cup. “Is that your medical opinion?”

“My unfinished M.D. from Stanford says yes.” Alex coaxed the glass closer to Lena as she tried to let it drop. “Seriously though, I worry enough about that dumb-dumb,” she jerked a thumb back to reference Kara, “don’t make me worry about you too.”

“Who knew you were such a softie, _Agent_ Danvers?”

“Me,” Kara interjected, coming back in with Lorraine’s backpack, Lovie perched on top. 

Alex tossed her hands up in admission. “I almost cried today watching my, self-proclaimed-not-good-with-kids, girlfriend carry your daughter around on her shoulders, sang three completely different, yet equally annoying songs about zoos, _and_ said the word, ‘potty’ more times than a childless, nearly thirty-year-old woman should.”

“Talk to me after you feel bad for jokingly ridiculing your infant for shitting up her back.”

“Babies do that?” Alex’s eyebrows knit in disgust.

Lena snorted out a small laugh. “Unfortunately, yes, often.”

“Oh my god.” Alex shook the visual from her head. “Anyways,” she took everything from Kara, slinging the backpack over one shoulder. “If all is good here, I’m going to go back to the little rugrat and my beautiful girlfriend.”

Lena, not wanting to expend any more energy than she needed, gave a tiny wave. “Thank you, Alex.”

“You’re the best,” Kara added.

“Call me if you need anything, okay?” Alex gave a look to both women. “And I’ll probably call around bedtime anyways, I’m sure Lo will want to say goodnight.” Giving Kara a squeeze on the shoulder, Alex let herself out, leaving the couple alone again. 

/////

“Why do I have to drink wine?”

“If I can’t drink, then you have to do it for me, I don’t care that it has no effect on you,” Lena said, lifting her head slightly off the couch cushion. 

“Lena, it’s four-thirty.”

“It’s Saturday,” Lena retorted. 

Kara grabbed the water kettle off the stove, filling up the simple brew, loose herbs dancing in the added liquid. “Which one should I have?”

“Um, a Spanish one, hold on.” It took a moment, but with the blanket wrapped tightly around her shoulders, Lena coaxed herself up and padded into the kitchen. Sliding her fuzzy socks on the hardwood, she met up with Kara in front of the wine fridge. 

“I’m making you peppermint rooibos.” Kara gestured over to the tea, the infusion slowly turning a deep red. “It’s supposed to be good for an upset stomach, it’s got bergamot or whatever in it too.”

Lena lay her head on Kara’s shoulder in thanks, staring intently at the wine collection, bottom lip caught in her teeth. She had forgone both contacts and glasses for the day, wine labels reading more blurry than usual. 

Leaving her post as a headrest, Kara went over to the pantry, getting a box of rice crackers to trade for the red wine Lena finally chose. “Here’s your dinner.”

Lena pulled a bottle out, handing it over in exchange for the bland crackers. “Rioja Tempranillo,” she explained. “You can get it so cheap in Spain.”

“I like how you pawn all your cheap wine off on me, like am I not worth the two-thousand-dollar bottle from Bordeaux?” Kara asked, pouring the fully infused tea into a mug and handing it over.

“You can’t get drunk,” Lena reiterated, following Kara back to the couch, cracker box hugged to her chest. “You can’t appreciate it fully.”

Kara turned the bottle to the side, hitting the bottom hard to ease the cork out enough so that she could pull it with her fingers. It came out with a satisfying pop, the inner piece dyed a deep burgundy. “I can’t just enjoy the taste?”

“Nuh-uh.” Lena shook her head, sinking back into the cushions and slurping at her tea, trying not to burn herself. “That one is good too though, promise. Can I have a little sip?”

“You were the one throwing up today.”

Lena pursed her lips against the mug. “It’s just one sip. Wine has antioxidants.”

“Love that you’re working hard to justify it.” Kara passed the glass. “I take it you’re feeling better?”

Lena shrugged. “Less nauseous I guess, I still don’t feel _good_.” Taking a slow drink, she shut her eyes, letting the small bit of wine aerate around her mouth before swallowing. “This might be my favorite, reminds me of Barcelona.”

“Oh yeah?” Kara got her glass back, getting a taste for herself. Outside, it had started raining, a steady rhythm of drops hitting the window. 

“I was meeting this biomedical engineer to pick her brain, wanted to get her opinion on one of my projects. The only free time she had was between a conference in Barcelona and one in Berlin, so I flew out for a weekend. I landed super late and was completely fucked with the jetlag. The concierge at my hotel gave me a bottle like that one while I was trying to FaceTime Lo in the lobby.”

“We should go to Barcelona,” Kara decided, tearing open the cracker bag and handing a few over.

Lena took the smallest one. “What, one-week post-reveal and we’re ready to start taking international vacations?”

“You’re the one talking about how rich you are all the time. Lo will be out of school in a week, think of it as a makeup for you squandering zoo day.”

Crunching down on the unfortunately brittle rice cracker, Lena backhanded Kara’s arm. 

“I’m serious about a vacation though,” Kara got back on track. “You deserve a break and Lo deserves to see the world. It doesn’t have to be Barcelona, it could just be Midvale, Eliza would love to host us. Or Disneyworld, or Paris!”

Despite just hitting Kara, Lena sank into her side. “You’ve always struck me as a Paris type of girl.”

“How so?”

“I don’t know, I could just see you trying to have a sword fight with a baguette, charming all the patisseries into giving you their days supply of pain au chocolat even if your French accent is terrible. And you’d probably look really cute next to the Eiffel Tower.”

“I bet you, me, and Lo in front of the Eiffel Tower would be even cuter. Parisian vacay is a go?”

“Bring it up to me again when my brain isn’t literal mush and I don’t want to vomm up that delicious sip of wine I just took.”

Kara reached for the remote. “How about we put on something mindless like The Office and I rub your back until you inevitably fall asleep again?”

“Have I mentioned that I love you today?”


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena Luthor: From Boardroom Bitch to Playground Frump

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Swear I never intended on abandoning this. It just actually took seven months to write. 
> 
> Thanks to anyone still reading and an extra little shout out to anyone who came to me on Tumblr with a reminder that I left y'all hanging. There's definitely more story to tell and this chapter is actually a Part One because I JUST WANTED TO GET SOMETHING OUT.
> 
> As usual, let me know what you think!!!

“One time I went to a place to get my toes painted with Gen and the girl, she put watermelons on my toes.” Lo was sprawled lazily across Kara’s lap on the big armchair near the bed in Lena’s room. As usual, she had tiptoed in with the sun. 

“That sounds awesome.”

“Yeah, and she had a dog. You think Mama wants a dog?”

Kara peeked over at Lena, still sleeping soundly, one hand tucked under the pillow and the other curled up by her face. “I don’t know about that.”

“Do you think Supergirl wears pajamas?” Lo asked, switching topics for at least the fifth time.

“Supergirl? Hmm…” Kara tucked her chin down to rest on Lo’s shoulder. “Well she must sleep when she’s not saving the world, so yeah, sounds right.”

“Does she-” Lo interrupted herself with a monster yawn. “Does she have her suit under her jammies?”

“So many questions this morning, my goodness.” Kara poked at Lo’s side, making her wiggle. Truthfully, she had never thought about wearing her suit under her pajamas. She was rarely pulled out in the middle of the night and she could change so fast it never really mattered. If she was being honest with herself, she never technically had to wear the suit under her clothes. She just liked the dramatics of ripping her shirt open. 

“I think she does,” Lo answered her own question between giggles. She squirmed herself up into a sitting position, getting face to face with Kara. Studying her features, she reached a pointer finger out, gently touching the indented scar near Kara’s left eyebrow. Her eyes narrowed curiously. “Did you get an owie here?”

Kara nodded, her brain wracking for the story. She had gotten it on Krypton when she was probably around Lo’s age. “I was little, like you,” she explained. “But I didn’t hit my head on anything. I got pretty sick and had a rash. I wasn’t supposed to scratch it, but I just couldn’t help it so I got my scar.”

Lo touched it again, hand then moving to her own scar, a pale line cutting through the outer third of her eyebrow. “I got one too. But I bonked my head on the monkey bars. Did you have Chicken Pops?”

“Pox,” Kara corrected with a shake of her head. “It wasn’t Chickenpox but it was kind of like that.” Argo Fever was nowhere close to Chickenpox but Kara didn’t feel like explaining.

Lo was unphased. “Mine bleeded a lot. I had to get stitches and mama said I was really brave.”

“I believe it, you’re the bravest kid I know.”

Content with Kara’s words, Lo settled her head against her chest. She pulled a piece of Kara’s hair and her own, twisting them together and watching the light and dark strands intertwine. The quiet lasted a few minutes before Lo popped up again. “Kara?”

“Hmm?”

“Is Mama sick again?”

“Nope, she’s just sleeping in,” Kara said. “Not everyone likes to wake up at the crack of dawn like you do.”

Lo’s eyes crinkled. “Can I jump on her to wake her up?”

Those seemed to be the magic words as one of Lena’s eyes cracked open. “Please do not.”

Despite the instructions, Lo leapt from Kara’s lap, landing on Lena’s middle. “Mama!”

A guttural gasp shot Lena into a sitting position as Lo’s knees connected with seemingly all of her internal organs. She just barely bit back a string of every single curse word she knew, wind knocked out of her. 

“Happy Summer?” Kara tried, gently scooping Lo off and over to the empty space of the bed. 

Lo surveyed her damage, a guilty row of baby teeth sinking into her bottom lip. “Oops.”

When Lena found her breath again, a smile made its way to her face, pulling Lo to her. “Maybe don’t lead with the knees next time, capiche?”

“I am _sorry_ ,” Lo said, flinging herself back to the foot of the bed. “I’m excited.”

Kara let out a laugh, lifting herself out of the chair and leaning against the mattress to sneak in a kiss. “Good morning.” 

“Mmm…” Lena broke them apart just by an inch, stealing another kiss before letting herself fall back against the pillows. “More kissing wake ups and less assault.”

“Can we make French toasties?” Lo asked, pulling the two women’s attention back over to her, laying at Lena’s feet, nightgown pulled over her head. 

“Is that what you want for your first day of summer breakfast?” Lena pulled Lo’s legs to get her closer, flipping the nightgown back down.

“Yeah!” Lo wiggled her feet, poking her toes into Lena’s blanketed thigh. “And I wanna scooter to the park with the cool water ground shooters.”

“I think that can be arranged.” 

With the affirmation, Lo bounced out of bed and out of the room. Excited shouts about excessive amounts of syrup and how she would definitely wait until her sunscreen soaked in before going on the monkey bars so she wouldn’t slip again echoed down the hall.

Shaking her head, Lena reached out to pull Kara’s closer to the bed. “The DEO can spare you for the day, can’t they?”

“I was there until three in the morning, barring any super emergencies, I think we’ll be okay.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m so used to having you in bed, it took me forever to fall asleep,” Lena said, digging a palm into an eye. 

“You were passed out when I got in, lamp on, glasses on, laptop open.”

Lena stretched, still trying to fully wake up despite her rude awakening. “Was watching a documentary on the Voyager space exploration.” 

“And it was so riveting you conked out, those things barely scratched the surface of the galaxy. I could tell you way more than some lame Netflix documentary,” Kara scoffed.

“You’ll have to regale me with tales another time, E.T.” Lena teased, stifling a yawn and leaning back onto the headboard.

“Remind me and I will,” Kara said before moving on. “What about you? Any boss lady work for the weekend?”

Lena had been swamped, working overtime to make up for her voluntary Monday sick day and involuntary Tuesday. It had taken clearance by Alex and an austere, Cat Grant-esque speech about the detriments of being away from L-Corp any longer to convince Kara that she was okay by Wednesday. Per usual, Jess had been more than helpful in her absence, prioritizing the things she missed and making catch up possible. Lowest on the list being the insane amount of press requests about Lo. Oddly enough, flying to a small town on the other side of the country for a morning show segment on working mothers was not at the top of her to-do’s. Actually important was the narrowing down of candidates for a CFO position, a role that would cut down on the responsibilities Lena put on herself. Someone to help with the mounds of paperwork and leaving Lena more time for family and for more research and innovation. She was dying to get back down to the lab. 

A touch to Lena’s shoulder and a fake static noise broke her from her thoughts. Kara was running a thumb over her exposed collarbone, other hand cupping her mouth to make another noise. “Earth to Lena. Any pressing L-Corp duties?”

“No.” Lena shook her head. “I made sure of it.”

“So, the day is ours?” Kara let herself drop onto the bed, draping over Lena’s lap and flipping over to face her.

Resting her arms down on Kara’s chest and hanging her head over her face, Lena laughed. “Yes.” She jerked back up when a crash sounded from the kitchen. 

A thump and a small shatter followed, Lo warbling a quick, “I dropped the cinnamon but I’m okay!”

“Well, ours and that bull in a china shop.” Lena shook her head. “Is she really okay?” 

Kara narrowed her eyes, looking through to the kitchen. “She shattered the cinnamon and I think she’s about to cry, she must have fallen from the counter.”

Lena was already sliding out from underneath Kara before she finished updating. Turning down the hall, she stopped on the outskirts of the kitchen, Lo standing amongst broken glass and powdered cinnamon, eyes shiny. “Lorraine, sweetie don’t move.”

Right behind Lena, Kara walked through the mess and scooped Lo up gently, her feet impervious to the glass. “I got you.”

Lo sniffed loudly, reaching an arm out to Lena to loop around her neck, legs still clamped around Kara’s middle. “I hurt my butt.”

“I’m so sorry.” Lena did her best to hold back a laugh and a biting remark that Lo shouldn’t have been climbing on the counter. “Do you want some ice or do you think you’ll be alright?”

Rubbing at a teary eye, Lo shook her head. “I don’t want ice.” She settled herself after another sniffle. “You don’t have to kiss it better because it’s my butt.”

Kara broke first, unable to stifle a giggle, passing Lo fully over to Lena. “Let me clean this all up so we can get cooking.”

Knowing that superspeed and potentially other unearthly powers would be used, Lena started back down the hall. “Come help me get dressed, Peanut. I need a good outfit for the park.” Lena stayed true to letting the little one make the fashion choices, somewhat regretting that decision when she emerged back in the kitchen in a pair of joggers covered in large purple, polka dots and a black workout tank that read, ‘Do it for Pizza’. The top was Kara’s, an article of clothing that had inevitably found its way to Lena’s bedroom floor and never made it back to Kara’s closet. But Lo had read the word ‘pizza’ and there was no saying no. 

Floor cinnamon and glass free, Kara had set the majority of the ingredients on the counter. Just grabbing a loaf of bread from the pantry, she caught sight of still Lo and Lena with her new digs. “Wow.”

Traumatic fall from the counter forgotten, Lo danced her way into the kitchen. “I picked it. She’s a sporty mama.”

“Nice work, nugget.” Kara held a hand out for a high-five that Lo slapped enthusiastically. “You going to help us cook?”

“Okay!” Lo disappeared behind the backside of the counter, one of the tall chairs lining that side beginning to move, chair legs squeaking across the hardwood. Lo got the chair all the way to Kara’s side, climbing up. “I wanna crack the eggs.”

Lena went to the cupboard for plates. “We’ll have to see about that. Why don’t you start by cracking open a few cardamom pods?” 

Lo’s head cocked to the side. “Kara mom?”

One hand holding the bread knife, the other on the loaf of sourdough, Kara froze at the statement. 

“Cardamom,” Lena overenunciated, showing Lo the label of the spice jar and shaking a few green pods out into her hand. “You can hit them with a spoon and get the black seeds out for me.”

Lo fished out a soup spoon from the drawer in front of her. “You said Kara mom, that’s silly. _You’re_ my Mama.”

Kara resumed cutting the bread, the serrated edge of the knife grating loudly against the crust, Lo’s innocent comment stinging more than she’d care to admit. 

/////

Sunglasses, two french braids, a metallic-scaled swimsuit, and a tutu were Lo’s look of choice as the three left the apartment building. Lena plunked a helmet on Lo’s head as soon as they hit the sidewalk, despite protest as Kara unfolded the purple scooter. 

Going to the park certainly wasn't new for Lo, her and Gen went often. But for Lena, fingers intertwined with Kara’s, a warning that Lo better stop and wait for them at the corner on the tip of her tongue, it was a first. And God, it felt good. 

Regret for not guiding Lo’s handpicked outfit for her sunk in for Lena as they made their way down the block. Summer sun and sweatpants were not a good mix. She tugged the fabric up, allowing at least a little airflow to her newly exposed lower legs. 

The park was busy, as to be expected on a Saturday in June. Thankfully finding an open bench, Kara and Lena set down their bags, Lo tossing off her helmet and backpack. Lena was able to stop Lo bouncing around enough to get the bare minimum amount of sunscreen on before she took off for the playground. 

“You think we should follow?” Kara asked, Lo already talking animatedly to a little blonde girl as she climbed up onto the structure. 

Lena shook her head, taking a seat on the shaded section of the bench. “That girl was in her class, Tenley I think. I don’t want to interrupt her friend time.”

“Yeah, but what about family time?” Kara plopped down on the sunnier side. 

Knocking into Kara’s shoulder, Lena laughed. “She’ll get us when she’s ready. We were promised a tour of the best slides, remember? Don’t pout.”

“I’m surprised you’re being cool about this,” Kara said. “I thought you would be much more excited to finally do this kind of thing, especially because last weekend was such a bust.” 

“We just got here.” Lena stretched her legs out. “Plus, I’m dying in these pants. Climbing out there is just going to make me sweat more, not my best look.”

“What are you talking about, you look great. I almost want to snap a photo for a Catco follow up: Lena Luthor, Taking On Public Motherhood with Style.”

“More like, Lena Luthor: From Boardroom Bitch to Playground Frump.”

“Nah.” Kara let out a laugh. “You’re a sporty mom,” she repeated Lo’s labeling from earlier. 

Letting a pale shoulder out into the sunlight, Lena let herself lean onto Kara. “I feel like I need to pinch myself.”

“Why?”

“Two years ago, I had a secret toddler, a brother gone mad, and a billion dollar company on the verge of collapse thrown at me. And now…” She gestured over to Lo hung upside down on the monkey bars, shrieking in delight. “Back then, I could have never pictured where I’m at now. Where we’re at.”

Kara hummed in agreement, resting her head on top of Lena’s. “It is pretty great.”

They sat quietly for a moment, listening to the giggling and shouting from all of the kids, the chirp of birds and the traffic from the busy street nearby, eyes following Lo. Feeling the heat of the sun beating down on her exposed arm, Lena pulled back into the shadier side. “But Lillian’s still out there, Cadmus, Lex’s supporters.” 

“Are you trying to ruin your own moment?”

“Just trying to be realistic. It’s the truth. We’ve had a break from it all, but especially since Lo is public knowledge, it has to be on my radar.” Lena took a deep breath, trying to shake the worry she had brought upon herself. “Sorry, this is shit conversation, I just - let’s go out tonight.”

“Like, go out on a date?” Kara couldn’t help but feign confusion, a teasing smile creeping on her face. 

Lena nodded, pushing the cuffs of her pants further up. “Yes, like a date. Dinner and whatever we want, maybe go see that new play at the old theatre off Fifth.”

“Is it a musical?”

“No.”

Kara scrunched up her face. “Hmm.”

“Okay, scrap the play then. I don’t care what we do, I just think we should do something. When was the last time the two of us went out?”

“It was…” Kara stopped, looking up to think. “Maybe, wait no. Okay, yeah, I don’t remember, it’s been a while. We’re past due, huh?”

Lena nodded. “Way past due.”

“Date night it is then,” Kara pressed a kiss to the side of Lena’s head. “I bet I can get Winn to come watch the nugget.”

“Oh, she’ll love that. I can make reservations at De Luca’s.”

Kara let her head fall back with a groan. “Oh my god. Miss Grant gave me leftovers from there once. I swear the garlic bread might be the best-tasting thing in this world. Over pizza.”

“I was in National City with Lex a long time ago, before Lo. He took me there, let me have wine and I had the braised beef tortelloni with the sage and mushroom brown butter sauce.” The corners of Lena’s lips turned up at the memory. “I felt like absolute shit the next day but it was the best meal I’ve ever had. Almost ten years later.”

“Well, get calling Luthor.” Kara reached into the front pocket of Lena’s sweats to pull out her phone. 

No sooner had Lena put the phone to ear when Lo skipped over, not stopping until she crashed into Lena’s legs.“Mama, Kara! Tenley went home because her mom said so and I want to do the rings.”

“The rings?” Kara scanned the playground, squatting down to Lo’s height.

Lo pointed. “There! It’s bigger than the monkey bars and Gen says I can’t do it without a grown-up ‘cuz I will break my face.”

Lena watched Lo drag Kara over to the rings, as the line instructed her to press two for reservations. She listened to a good bit of hold music before conversing with an uppity sounding man. Kara had hoisted Lo up to the first ring and kept guiding hands at the ready for mishaps as Lo worked across. The further she got, the more determined the look on Lo’s face. Her tongue was out in concentration, face scrunched. When she reached the end, she dropped dramatically down, fully confident that Kara would catch her and set her back on her feet. 

“Mama, did you _see_ me?!”

Lena hoisted herself off the bench, deciding on coming closer rather than yelling from her spot. “You were amazing. Are you going to try it again?”

“No, you gotta do it,” Lo said.

“Yeah, Lena.” Kara held Lo’s hands and let her climb up her legs, flipping herself backward and dangling upside down. “It’s your turn.”

Lo kicked over and flipped herself back to standing. “Come on, mama!”

Not ready to make a fool of herself on playground equipment, Lena folded her arms. “I don’t know how, maybe you could show me again.”

Kara scoffed. “No playing the dumb card here.”

“Go, mama, go!”

With a smirk, Lena tried one more time. “Hey Lo, do you think Kara could do it while you’re on her back?”

Lo stopped her bouncing feet. “Yeah!”

Kara mouthed a joking, ‘how dare you,’ as Lo pulled at her shirt, trying to climb up. 

Lena could only smirk, leaning against a support beam. Kara squat down help get Lo up, securing her legs and instructing her arm hold before jumping up to grab the first ring. Even with the extra nearly 40 pounds of giggle monster, Kara swung across easily. 

The rings turned into the slide tour, Lena going down one for the first time since Lo was a baby. The swings were a hit, Kara pushing Lo as high as the swing allowed and Lena mastering an underdog without getting kicked in the head. When Lo dragged them over to the splash pad, it was a welcome relief. 

They left the park dripping wet, letting the sun dry them as they walked to a nearby cafe for lunch. Kara was pulled away during their stop at the plant-based soft serve shop on the way home. Lena powered through getting Lo back, having to carry the scooter, and getting her down for a short-lived nap. It was nearly six before Kara burst back into the apartment, looking clean but smelling of sewage. 

Jumping in the shower almost right away, Kara just stepped out when there was a knock on the door. She reached a hand out to the towel hook, wrapping herself up and stepping out, hair still dripping. Lena was leaned over the sink to get closer to the mirror, working on getting an earring in. “Kara, love, can you get that? It should be Winn. Front desk just called up about him.”

“I’m literally naked.”

“You literally have superpowers, ow, dammit.” Lena failed to get the earring through for what seemed like the tenth time, sucking on the finger she had jabbed instead. “Please?” 

Lena kept getting more and more lenient with Kara using her powers at home and she wasn’t complaining. A few seconds later, pants and a button-up were on, hair wrapped in the towel. She walked at human-pace to answer the door. “Hello Winslow.”

“You going to dinner with a towel on your head?” Winn asked, stepping in and ignoring pleasantries. 

Lo appeared in the hallway. “Kara, I need my glitter.” She noticed Winn, grabbing onto both his and Kara’s hands, pulling them back to her art project. “I need the pink, and orange, and probably all the colors.”

Pulling the towel off her head and depositing Lo at the table with Winn, Kara went over to the closet that held the craft supplies, getting the container of squeezable glitter out. “Here you go, little Miss. Did you tell Winn what you’re making?”

“Yeah, what kind of project do we have going on here?” Winn asked, sliding into the seat next to Lo.

Lo glanced up for a moment, before focusing back down to clear her colored pencils and stickers away from her paper. “Something that is none of your business.”

“Dude.” Kara raised her brow, giving Lo a pointed look in a lazy disciplinary attempt. 

Lo huffed. “It’s just a picture,” she explained, digging in the container. “I put Mama and Kara and Supergirl and a dog and Obi-Wan Kenobi. And me with a lightsaber. Did you know we get to have chicken nuggets for dinner?”

“Nuggets sound great, kid, but let’s focus on what’s really important. What lightsaber color are you going to have?” Winn grabbed the green glitter. “I’m pretty partial to the green.”

Leaving the two to geek out together, Kara went back to check on Lena’s progress. She half expected to come back to what she had left, but found Lena completely ready, last minute primping and outfit tuggings being done in the full length mirror of the walk-in closet. Leaning against the door frame she let out a low whistle. “Damn…”

Lena spun around, realizing she wasn’t alone. “Stop, I look like this every day.”

Kara shook her head, coming off the wall and taking a step forward to grab one of Lena’s hands. “You do _not_ wear that dress to work.” The sleeves fell just below her shoulders, leaving Lena’s entire decolletage bare. The dress cut just deep enough to show cleavage, though keeping within reason to avoid an accidental public nip slip. The fabric clung perfectly to every little nuance of Lena’s body, the softer parts of her stomach and the curve of her hips, falling to just below the knee. Kara forced her gaze back to Lena’s made up face. “You look amazing.”

“Eh,” Lena shrugged, grabbing onto Kara’s other hand as well, interlocking their fingers. “You don’t clean up too bad yourself either. You thinking about possibly combing your hair?”

“Someone made me answer the door so I haven’t had the time.”

Letting go, Lena pushed Kara back towards the bathroom. “Go, I need to give Winn the rundown anyway and then we should get going. They don’t hold reservations.”

Kara didn’t move much as Lena made her way out, watching her as she went with a head shake and a sing-songed, “I am going to rip that dress apart.”

“I heard that!”

Smirk unable to stay off her lips, Kara went to retrieve the hair dryer and a round brush. She started working through the first section of hair quickly, not bothering to make it nice, she was just going to put it up. As soon as it was semi-dry, she started to braid, fingers twisting expertly after years of experience. Alex had come up with the idea to have Kara practice being gentle by doing her hair. Knowing she didn’t want to hurt her sister helped, and though the first few weeks Alex went to school with shitty looking hair, Kara had gotten really, really good at it. And it helped her control her powers, a true win-win. After sliding the last bobby pin into place, she heard a regretful ‘uh oh,’ from Lo. Rounding the corner into the kitchen found Lo holding a mostly empty cup, the former filling of green juice soaking Lena’s left sleeve and front, dripping down the dress and in between her boobs. Winn, looking like he’d been roped into dinner duty with an oven tray of dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets, gave a grimace. 

Lena looked ready to burst and Lo knew it, eyes glued to the floor. “I forgot I didn’t have a lid…”

Springing into a semblance of action, Kara grabbed the roll of paper towel from the counter, unraveling and tearing off a few sheets. “Lena, here.” 

Still silent, Lena took the offered towels, dabbing at the fabric, not making much progress. 

“That is not going to work…” Winn murmured.

With a heavy sigh, Lena dropped the mostly useless paper towels into the trash and disappeared down the hall, heels clacking until they hit the bedroom rug. 

Lo finally looked up, eyes brimmed with tears. “It was an accident,” her voice wobbled.

“I know,” Kara said softly, cleaning the remaining juice from the floor and taking Lo’s cup.

The tray of chicken nuggets clanged as Winn tossed them into the oven. “A hug gone awry.”

Winn’s humor didn’t help, tears falling anyway, Lo choked through a sob. “Mama’s mad at me.”

“No she’s not.” Kara tossed the cup in the sink and scooped the little one up. “She’s not, you’re fine.” She smoothed down Lo’s hair, gently swaying back and forth in an effort to calm her down. 

“B-but she looked mad,” Lo tried, struggling to get her words out. “I j-just gived her a hu-ug.” She let out a more incoherent sentence next, clinging to Kara’s shoulders. 

Kara continued to sway, shush and reassure that everything was alright with little success over the next few minutes. Winn was a bit out of his element, occupying himself with his phone and keeping an overly watchful eye on the baking nuggets. 

Lena emerged shortly, put together again with an equally beautiful navy blue dress replacing black. “Okay, good to go-” She stopped as she took notice of Lo’s meltdown. “Peanut…”

Struggling with a ragged breath, Lo pushed at the hair sticking to her face with another sob. “I’m sor-ry, mama.”

“Oh Lorraine, sweetie.” Visible guilt spread over Lena’s face as she took Lo from Kara. “It’s okay, my dress and I are washable. I know you didn’t mean to.”

Being tuckered out from a day at the park and the onslaught of emotions not mixing well, Lo continued to cry. Very conscious of Lena’s outfit, she hugged a loose grip around Lena’s neck but refrained from actually cuddling in.

Lena sighed again, lighter this time, grabbing a few tissues from the box on the counter, wiping at Lo’s eyes and nose. “Accidents happen baby. You know that and I know that. I may have been a little frustrated about having to change, but I would never be mad at you for that.” She brushed away the latest tear tracking down Lo’s cheek. “To be perfectly honest sweets, I forgot you didn’t have a lid too.”

“I don’t want you to go,” Lo switched gears, a new wave of waterworks threatening to start up.

Placing a kiss in her hair, Lena carried Lo over to the couch, holding up a finger to Kara to signal she’d be just a moment longer. 

Kara turned to Winn. “You ready to babysit all night?”

“Ummm…”

“Relax, she’s supposed to be in bed in an hour and a half anyway. You’ll be fine.” Kara reassured, glancing up at the microwave clock. “Is that the actual time?”

Winn checked his phone. “Yes.”

“Lena and I are going to miss our reservation, aren’t we?”

Winn put on the oven mitts to give the nuggets a flip. “Oh, one-hundred percent.”

**Author's Note:**

> Come bother me on tumblr at /itsmaddienotmaddy


End file.
